Five German towns, Hamburg, Munich, Ingolstadt, Düsseldorf, Dresden and Braunschweig are to become testing grounds for self-driving cars, Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt has told tabloid Bild am Sonntag.
Dobrindt made the announcement at the start of a funding programme for automated driving, for which the Ministry of Transport will provide US$89 million (€80 million) in funds towards a research project by 2020.
He said: “Automated driving systems are gradually taking effect. Automated braking assistants and digital driving are already reality. In five years, we will have standard highly-automated systems that steer our cars digitally along the motorway.”
During the pilot phase, tests will determine whether self-driving cars recognise traffic lights, crossroads and other obstacles in road traffic. So far, self-driving cars have been tested mainly on motorways in less complex conditions.
Dobrindt made the announcement at the start of a funding programme for automated driving, for which the Ministry of Transport will provide US$89 million (€80 million) in funds towards a research project by 2020.
He said: “Automated driving systems are gradually taking effect. Automated braking assistants and digital driving are already reality. In five years, we will have standard highly-automated systems that steer our cars digitally along the motorway.”
During the pilot phase, tests will determine whether self-driving cars recognise traffic lights, crossroads and other obstacles in road traffic. So far, self-driving cars have been tested mainly on motorways in less complex conditions.
