Model Regions for the Mobility of the Future

We will soon be testing how artificial intelligence (AI) opens up new opportunities to combine climate-friendly mobility, regional value creation and personalised services in model regions. One thing is certain: in the future, we want to travel from one place to another in a clean, affordable and reliable manner, regardless of whether we live in the city or in the countryside.

It remains to be seen whether we will travel in a bus with a bus driver, in an autonomous vehicle or on demand in ‘smart vehicles’. AI opens up new options and business models for us here. We want to take advantage of these opportunities in the near future.

With the new initiative ‘AI-based climate-neutral mobility systems in model regions’, we at the BMFTR are promoting the use of AI for the sustainable development of our mobility system. Learning systems offer new opportunities for cities and regions to improve their mobility systems. They enable the optimisation of routes, the dynamic adjustment of traffic flows through intelligent control of traffic lights in real time, and optimised network management.

The funded model regions provide the ideal setting for real-world laboratories where researchers can safely develop, test and establish new AI-based systems for transport and related services and processes. In this way, we are creating the right conditions for the transition from research to application.

In those real-world laboratories, scientists conduct research under real-world conditions on possibilities for technology transfer and implementation. They can optimise processes, improve services, align with user needs and thus develop a mobility system that precisely fits the region. The aim is also to scale up developments and establish them among users across an entire region. Accordingly, model regions must meet strong requirements. We are looking for regions with strong players from business and science, as well as a high level of openness to innovation in politics and society.

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research plays a key role in linking technological innovations with social issues. It generates regional knowledge for action and implementation. In this way, it sets the framework for the successful regional testing and deployment of climate-neutral mobility solutions.

The call for funding can be found here (in German). Further information about the objectives and other measures of the HTAD on technologies for climate-neutral mobility you find here.