An important bill was passed in the Bundestag last week that allows self driving shuttles – more specifically level 4 autonomous vehicles on public roads, predicting that over time we can really say goodbye to the steering wheel. While personal cars are still not allowed to be driven fully by a computer, self driving shuttles and logistics trucks can drive the streets without a human operator on board. 

Starting in 2022, self-driving in Germany will be geographically limited to certain areas, and the law also contains safeguards. What is particularly interesting from Commsignia’s point of view is that the bill introduces a new legal concept, the technical supervisor. 

Welcome tele-operated driving

According to the bill, a natural person with liabilities related to driving should always be available to deactivate the self-driving vehicle in case of issues. We are talking about a human being who can access, stop and restart the vehicle from a remote location. 

Self-driving fleet operator companies will have to be sure that the vehicles are not only connected to a network, but the operators receive real-time information from the vehicles and they can intervene immediately.

We at Commsignia develop products related to self-driving and vehicle communication. We also have experiences with driverless vehicles: in Las Vegas our V2X roadside units help a robotaxi fleet to navigate the busy streets.

Take a look at our video from Las Vegas, and reach out for our experts for more information.