High-ranking visitors at the THI for the opening of the "First Mile" test field

The "First Mile" connects the future IN-Campus technology park with the A9 motorway digital test field. The test field will add an open, urban development and demonstration platform for 5G-based mobility applications to the Ingolstadt mobility region to contribute to safety and sustainability in traffic as well as the development of connected, automated driving.

In 2015, the first fully networked road for automated driving was put into operation on the A9. Automated driving systems are tested there in real operation. In the meantime, the "Digital Test Field Motorway" on the A9 in Bavaria is attracting worldwide attention. With the "First Mile" test field, the complex traffic situation in urban traffic is added.

The vision is to be able to drive an autonomous vehicle from the motorway along urban roads to a car park. To achieve this, the roadside infrastructure is equipped with sensors, communication modules and IT, and a control centre ("mission control") is set up. The infrastructure is the technical basis for an open innovation laboratory for academia, start-ups and companies.

Science Minister Markus Blume emphasised on site: "The THI is the scientific heart of the Bavarian AI mobility node - a real incubator for ideas on how we will get around in the future in a sustainable, safe and resource-saving way. In this highly potent industrial environment around Ingolstadt, the expertise of science and business interlock like pistons and cylinders, and the mobility region serves as a real laboratory. These are excellent conditions for putting the mobility of the future on the road - or in the air! We want to maintain our technological leadership in the automotive sector." The development of the network node at the THI is progressing at a rapid pace, Blume said: "15 new AI professorships have already been filled in Ingolstadt! With the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria and 3.5 billion euros, the Free State is providing solutions for the megatopics of the future at the AI locations. "

Bavaria's Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Roland Weigert explained: "The Regional Network for Autonomous Driving and the cutting-edge research at the Technical University make Ingolstadt a leading region for the smart digital mobility of the future. The opening of the 'First Mile' test track marks the next important step in the key topic of autonomous driving. Autonomous driving is a game changer for the entire industry and at the same time the future of mobility. With our research funding, we are investing specifically in the technological leadership of our manufacturers and suppliers for autonomous driving and strengthening the competitiveness of the Bavarian automotive industry."

Prof. Dr. Walter Schober, President of Ingolstadt University of Technology, thanked the state government for its support and said, "With the First Mile, we are networking vehicles with their infrastructure - and thus creating a contribution to how safe automated driving can be designed in the future. With the test field, the THI is expanding the existing indoor and outdoor test facilities of CARISSMA, the nationwide scientific control centre for vehicle safety, and strengthening the Bavarian AI mobility node, which is also based at the THI."

The project is led by THI professors Andreas Festag, Ondrej Vaculin and Christian Facchi.