Karsan’s Level-4 autonomous electric bus, the Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK, has commenced public transport operations in Stavanger, Norway, becoming the first self-driving bus in Europe to carry passengers in a city-centre.
Norwegian Minister of Transport Jon-Ivar Nygård attended an official ceremony at the NedreStrandgate 89 bus stop in Stavanger to celebrate the start of the autonomous passenger bus service. The ceremony was also attended by Karsan CEO Okan Baş, ADASTEC CEO, Ali UfukPeker, Norwegian ministry, and industry experts.
The Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK carried its first passengers immediately after the ceremony from the bus stop at NedreStrandgate 89 to the Stavanger Concert Hall.
“With our vision of always being one step ahead in the future of mobility, we are shaping the future of transportation with the innovative products we have developed as Karsan. Autonomous e-ATAK is now being employed to kick off the driverless public transportation service in Norway within this project, right after our driverless vehicle used in real traffic conditions at the campus of Michigan State University. This is a first in Europe. We are truly delighted that urban public transportation will be serviced for the first time in Europe with our self-driving electric bus Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK.”
The Karsan e-ATAK is equipped with LiDAR sensors, radar technology, RGB cameras and thermal cameras to autonomously detect its surroundings without a driver.
The Level-4 autonomous technology allows the bus to travel autonomously on a planned route at speeds up to 50 kilometres per hour. The vehicle can also perform driverless operations such as approaching the stops, managing stop times, and navigating and responding to intersections, crossings and traffic lights.
“We are very proud to see that the journey we have set out with the mission of enabling vehicles equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technologies in public transport and the development of smart cities is now actively in use. Norway is one of the countries where mobility is developing at the highest level. In this sense, we are excited to be a partner in this project that will accelerate our research and development efforts and further develop our flowride.ai SAE Level-4 Automated Driving Software Platform for commercial vehicles, not only on this route, but also throughout the country and globally.”
