The SAFIR network partnership is mainly focused on THI – a university of applied science with a strong research profile as well as proven expertise in the HRK research area of vehicle and road safety – and also specialised SMEs and suppliers in the field of vehicle safety. The SAFIR innovation partnership relies on close networking between industry and science in research and development topics. Starting with the brainstorming with large companies and specialized SMEs, the process continues with the research of basic principles with university and non-university research institutions, through the individual development steps, to the introduction of series production and finally to professional disposal. The IFG Ingolstadt, as a company of the city of Ingolstadt for location and business development, supports SAFIR as a municipal project partner in the field of autonomous mobility in urban areas. This interdisciplinarity of the partners makes it possible to integrate the specific know-how into the different product phases with the effect that the entire product life cycle is covered.
The research partnership currently comprises 22 partners: besides 15 core partners, there are also seven further so-called associated partners from science and industry. The network includes the existing and planned research infrastructure of the CARISSMA research facility as well as the test tracks for autonomous driving (A9 motorway section A9; “first mile” Ingolstadt) and the OEM vehicle test site. As a test field for networked mobility, the city and region aim to strengthen the international competitiveness of regional companies. Ingolstadt is supposed to support CARISSMA as an experimental area for networked mobility, as well as to strengthen innovation in regional companies and start-ups.
