Skip to main content

First Swiss AV takes to the roads

Switzerland is testing its first autonomous vehicle (AV) on the streets of Zurich. Developed in cooperation with Swiss telecommunications group Swisscom, the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK) and Germany’s Autonomos Labs, the heavily modified VW Passat has been equipped with sensors, computers and software. The computer system drives, steers and brakes the vehicle autonomously and detects other vehicles and pedestrians by means of laser scanners, radar and vid
May 15, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Switzerland is testing its first autonomous vehicle (AV) on the streets of Zurich. Developed in cooperation with Swiss telecommunications group Swisscom, the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK) and Germany’s Autonomos Labs, the heavily modified VW Passat has been equipped with sensors, computers and software.

The computer system drives, steers and brakes the vehicle autonomously and detects other vehicles and pedestrians by means of laser scanners, radar and video cameras. Special software analyses the data, recognises driving situations and issues driving commands to the central operating system.

Between 4 and 14 May 2015, the car will be taken on test drives on UVEK-specified routes through Zurich. Specially trained drivers will behind the wheel to ensure safety.

The AV project will enable Swisscom to gather empirical data and gain insights for future mobility systems and how they interact with communication networks, other traffic and the environment.

As a leading ICT provider, Swisscom is perfectly positioned to network cars, objects and people. Christian Petit, head of Swisscom Enterprise Customers, says: “Swisscom is not turning into a car manufacturer. But future innovations in the automotive industry will centre on networking with the environment. For this reason, the driverless car is a prime example of digitisation and therefore of great interest to us.”

Related Content

  • California grants Uber driverless car permit, releases autonomous vehicle regulations
    March 13, 2017
    The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has issued Uber with another permit to put its driverless cars back on the state’s roads, according to Reuters. Obtaining the permit also marks a concession for Uber, which had fought California regulators over the requirement and initially refused to apply for the US$150 permit. Following a disagreement with regulators last December when Uber argued that its cars do not meet the state's definition of an autonomous vehicle because they require constant mo
  • Australia's first driverless bus takes to the open road
    September 1, 2016
    Australia’s first fully driverless and electric shuttle bus, the RAC Intellibus, has begun on-roads trials in South Perth, following tests in a closed environment, as part of the Royal Automobile Club’s (RAC) plan to trial autonomous vehicle technology. The RAC Intellibus will carry passengers and interact with traffic, parked cars, cyclists and pedestrians as it travels along South Perth Esplanade between the Old Mill, near the Narrows Bridge, and Sir James Mitchell Park.
  • Driverless vehicles ‘need quality road markings’
    September 20, 2013
    UK company Quality Marking Systems has released its comments on a recent road safety article in the Road Safety Markings Association’s (RSMA’s) Top Marks magazine entitled ‘ERF at the forefront of improving road safety in Europe’. The article examines the growing importance of a well maintained road infrastructure and indicates that the European Union Road Federation (ERF) has initiated a very promising cooperation with the European Road Assessment Programme and the European Association of Vehicle Manuf
  • Transportation applications move to machine vision’s mainstream
    June 11, 2015
    The adaptation of machine vision to transport applications continues apace. That the machine vision industry is taking traffic installations seriously is evident by the amount of hardware and software products tailor-made for ITS applications that are now available on the market. A good example comes from US-based Gridsmart Technologies which has developed a single wire fisheye camera that provides a horizon to horizon view for use at intersections. Not only does the single camera replace four or more in a