A new project in the field of autonomous transportation represents tangible cooperation between Czech and Israeli partners for research and development of state-of-the-art technologies. A first milestone was the Memorandum of Understanding signed by representatives of Mobileye and VDT Technology in September this year for establishing closer cooperation in the field of autonomous mobility through the creation of self-driving shuttle services in the Czech Republic.
A month later, on 24 October 2022, another Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Jerusalem in the presence of the Czech Minister of Science, Research and Innovation, Helena Langšádlová, for close cooperation on the development of autonomous buses and their integration into urban traffic management. Mobileye and VDT Technology were joined by the Faculty of Transport of the Czech Technical University in Prague and the Prague Advanced Technology and Research Innovation Centre (PATRIC). In addition to practical demonstrations of autonomous driving, the meeting was a space for discussions on the importance and relevance of cooperation between universities and industry, the conditions for establishing start-ups, and possible ways of funding research in both the Czech Republic and Israel.
At the signing in Jerusalem, Minister Helena Langšádlová said: “This research project for the development of autonomous mobility has my full support. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the self-driven car experience which I witnessed as a passenger in busy Jerusalem traffic. Of course, there are still a number of complex issues to be resolved on the road to integrating autonomous vehicles into public transport networks, such as road safety and user health, as well as ethical issues. As such, I am also happy to support the development of appropriate national legislation in the Czech Republic.”
The main aim of the joint Czech-Israeli project is to ensure that autonomous vehicles serve citizens and strengthen the public transport network without negatively impacting the environment. The technologies that will make buses autonomous will largely eliminate the human factor, meaning they will be primarily unmanned. Autonomous buses would first be introduced to the Czech market, and then to other countries. The pilot phase of the project is a testing phase, with at least 15 newly developed autonomous vehicles to be tested in the Czech Republic from a technical and operational point of view.
The project was also praised by the Dean of the Faculty of Transport of the CTU in Prague, Professor Ondřej Přibyl: “We have been working on the development of cooperative and autonomous systems and their integration into urban management for a long time. This project is an important step forward for the Czech public transport network, and I am very pleased that our faculty is involved.
The introduction of autonomous solutions in public transport is an important topic at a time when cities are striving for cleaner and safer streets for citizens. This cooperation promises to be another chapter in fruitful Czech-Israeli cooperation in science and research.”
The research project will put the Czech Republic at the forefront of developing innovative urban transport solutions through environmentally friendly and cost-effective cooperative and autonomous mobility technology. It also underlines the commitment of Czech scientific leaders to further expand cooperation with advanced global economies in the field of cutting-edge technologies.
For more information please contact:
Erik Feldman, VDT Technology a.s.
erik.feldman@vdttechnology.com, tel.: +420 725 099 165
Kateřina Fričová, Best Communications
katerina.fricova@bestcg.com, tel.: +420 602 615 093
Notes for Editors:
The Faculty of Transport of the CTU in Prague was founded in its present form in 1993 as the leading academic institution in the field of transport, logistics and telecommunications in the Czech Republic. Currently, it has two departments – in Prague and in Decin. Research and teaching at the faculty covers the whole breadth of transport and offers a wide range of study programmes led by experts in the field, who teach future professionals in transport and logistics as well as telecommunications engineers or professional pilots. For more information, visit www.fd.cvut.cz.
The Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) is one of the largest and oldest technical universities in Europe. According to Methodology 2017+, it is the highest-rated in the group of Czech technical universities. Currently, CTU has eight faculties: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Architecture, Transportation Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Information Technology. There are over 19,000 students studying at the university. In the 2021/22 academic year, CTU offers its students 227 accredited study programmes, 94 of which are delivered in a foreign language. CTU educates experts in the field of technology, and also scientists and managers with knowledge of foreign languages, who are dynamic, flexible and able to adapt quickly to market requirements. According to the results of Methodology 2017+, CTU was evaluated in a group of five technical universities, and received the highest rating of grade A. CTU in Prague is currently in the following positions according to the QS World University Rankings, which evaluated 2642 universities around the world. In the global QS World University Rankings, CTU is in 378th place, and in 12th place in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia regional rankings. Within the evaluation for the area of Engineering and Technology, CTU is in 175th place; in the field of Engineering – Civil and Structural, CTU is rated in 201st–220th place; in the field of Engineering – Mechanical, CTU is in 201st–250th place; and in Engineering – Electrical, in 201st–250th position. In the field of Physics and Astronomy, in 201st–250th place; in Natural Sciences, in 238th place. The University is ranked 151st–200th in Computer Science and Information Systems, in 251st–300th place in Material Sciences, and 251st–300th in Mathematics. More information on https://www.cvut.cz/
VDT Technology a.s. as a system integrator offers complex solutions for intelligent monitoring, control and data management systems. It prepares advanced expert functionalities such as simulation, prediction and digital modelling in the environment of IoT platforms. For more information, visit www.vdttechnology.com.
The PATRIC Innovation Center (Prague Advanced Technology and Research Innovation Center, a.s.) has long been cooperating with Israeli partners from the academic environment and is involved in putting the results of innovation projects in the field of autonomous systems into practice. Supporting the development of autonomous shuttle buses is another step towards strengthening international cooperation in the field of advanced technologies. The creation of an innovation ecosystem in the heart of Europe and the development of the Czech-Israeli scientific community is crucial for the PATRIC Centre. For more information, please visit www.patric.expert.
Mobileye, an Intel company, is at the forefront of the mobility revolution with its autonomous driving and driver assistance technologies that leverage world-renowned expertise in computer vision, machine learning, mapping and data analytics. Our technology enables self-driving vehicles and mobility solutions, powers cutting-edge advanced driver assistance systems, and provides valuable insights to optimize mobility infrastructure. Mobileye has pioneered ground-breaking technologies such as True Redundancy™ sensing, REM™ crowdsourced mapping and Responsibility Sensitive Safety (RSS) technology that are moving the ADAS and AV field towards the future of mobility. For more information, visit: www.mobileye.com.