Mobileye has received a permit recommendation from TÜV SÜD that will allow the company to operate its AV technology on German streets. With the permit, Mobileye will look to expand its pilot phase in the country, operating a fleet of NIO ES8 EVs equipped with its Mobileye Drive system
The ES8 is currently being utilized by the company as a vehicle platform for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) offerings with its partners in Munich and Darmstadt, as well as further projects across Europe. Models equipped with Mobileye’s self-driving hardware and software are planned to be used in a robotaxi service and integrated into Germany’s local public transport as on-demand shuttles.
Following the regulations adopted by EU and German authorities for safe AV testing and deployment in 2022, the pilot stage for these services on German roads will continue, and develop, over the course of 2023. In this phase, a safety driver will supervise the vehicle’s autonomous operations until Mobileye obtains the necessary approvals and permits to conduct driverless pilots.
The NIO EVs used in Mobileye’s Germany pilot are retrofitted with a variety of sensors as well as the Mobileye Drive autonomous self-driving system. The full suite pairs 13 cameras with an independent perception system consisting of six surround radars, three long-range surround LiDARs, and six short-range surround LiDARs.
An embedded EyeQ SoC processes real-world data from these sensors, utilizing Mobileye’s Road Experience Management and lean driving policy with a mathematical method for automated driving. The full system is intended to be scalable and support different MaaS use cases – such as autonomous robotaxis, public-transit shuttles or last-mile goods delivery.
