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The vehicle in question, together with other electric buses, is operated by CTM, Source: Comunidad de Madrid

Madrid university restores driverless bus service on campus

Madrid university restores driverless bus service on campus

The return of the vehicle features technological improvements that guarantee even more safety

On Monday, 20 September, CTM (the transit authority of the Madrid Region) restored the driverless bus service running on the Cantoblanco campus of the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). This time around the EasyMile vehicle has been upgraded with some new high-tech features which will allow more seamless remote management and increased safety for the passengers on its board.

This was the first autonomous vehicle in Spain 

The driverless minibus started running on 3.8-km loop in the Cantoblanco campus in October of 2020. It incorporated LIDAR technology, laser object detection and a measurement system.

Seemingly, at some point, the service was temporarily interrupted in order to implement the necessary upgrades. It now has a hardware update and two more LIDAR devices to improve safety, definition and supervision of the terrain for both pedestrians and vehicles.

Other improvements present in the vehicle software are a route mapping that introduces the improvements of the route, and an update of the braking system to make it smoother. These improvements also allow for the speed to be increased thanks to the new vehicle capability to avoid obstacles wherever possible.

Seatbelts are now part of the six seats present in the interior. The vehicle can carry 12 passengers overall, half of whom standing.

On the other hand, modifications have been introduced that allow increasing the management and remote review of the bus from the control post, such as rearming and restarting the system or avoiding obstacles. 

The vehicle does not have a driver, nor does it have a steering wheel to use, but for safety, it is mandatory that an operator always travels in it.  He can drive it manually in case of an incident by using a control lever, similar to a videogame joystick.

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