The city of Buenos Aires has a autonomous bus which already takes a route and where you can walk for free. It is the first vehicle of this type without a driver that circulates on public roads in Latin America on a daily basis.
This is a project of the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) and together with the Innovation Park, in CABA. The objective is to analyze the potential of such a vehicle and the possibility of expanding its circulation in other urban spaces.
At the moment, the bus runs along a fixed route within the trails of the Innovation Parklocated in the Núñez neighborhood, in front of the River Plate stadium.
The vehicle, of French origin, is 100% electric and works autonomously, so much so that its original design does not include space for a driver, much less elements such as a steering wheel or accelerator and brake pedals.
To move it uses a series of sensors that allows you to “see” everything that happens around you and that give you the ability to apply the brakes to come to a complete stop should something cross your path.
A study for future applications
The autonomous vehicle, with capacity for 15 people (11 of them seated), moves within the paths of the Innovation Park and for now does not interact with other vehicles, but with pedestrians who may be walking there.
“This project consists of investigating how an autonomous vehicle impacts a controlled environment, in this case with the objective that in the long term a precedent is set so that it stops having such a controlled and closed environment and can be in the city” , he explained to Clarion Lien Tori, ITBA teacher and project manager.
The bus arrived in the country at the end of 2023, as part of the Urban Mobility Research Platform. Although it is an advanced vehicle, Previous work had to be done on it to put it into operation.. “We create the entire environment for it. It’s not a matter of taking an autonomous vehicle to a new place, walking out and starting to go around like a vacuum cleaner,” Tori explained.
The ITBA autonomous bus carries up to 8 LiDAR radars that monitor its surroundings.The route was previously designed, which the teacher defined as demanding, due to the conditions of the place, the width of the path, the pedestrian paths that cross it and the different posts that are on its edges.
“Basically we did a 3D mapping of the place and we had to recognize where there is a pedestrian path, where there are poles, where there are trees and consider that the trees will grow“So that’s something that’s going to change,” Tori pointed out.
In this way, the vehicle advances and slows down programmed every time it approaches a pedestrian path and stops automatically at different stations along the route.
Up to 15 people can board the ITBA autonomous bus.During a demonstration of the vehicle’s operation, this reporter crossed in front of the vehicle without warning, at a safe distance, and He hit the brakes and came to a complete stop before setting foot on the pedestrian path.l. Once the road was clear, he resumed his march.
“I think the biggest challenge is for people, both internal and external users, to begin to get used to the use and existence of such a vehicle,” stressed the ITBA professor.
What is the autonomous bus like?
The shape of this bus is quite particular, since it is completely uniform and symmetrical, it has no trunk or tail. In fact, it can go either way in one direction or another.
It is 100% electric and can go to a maximum speed of 25 km/h, although to circulate on the trails of the Innovation Park the maximum was limited to 11 km/h. It is equipped with cameras and sensors that record everything that happens around it.
The ITBA autonomous bus can even operate in the rain.It has a 25 kW motor and its battery gives it a range of 80 kilometers. It also has four steering wheels (that is, all four fold), which allows excellent maneuverability in small spaces.
The functioning of the LiDAR sensors, of which it has 8 units, and allows you to have a 2D and 3D perception of the environment, ensuring a precise position and the detection of obstacles. The GNSS geopositioning system is also decisive, which has a precision greater than one centimeter.
How to travel on the autonomous bus
Anyone interested can get on the autonomous bus and take a walk for free. You just have to go to the Innovation Park, in the Núñez neighborhood, in front of the River Plate stadium.
The ITBA autonomous bus route has 1,100 meters and 5 stops.The designed route has a total of 1,100 meters and 5 stops. Although it can carry up to 15 people, they recommend that no more than 11 passengers board so that everyone travels seated. It has access planned for people with reduced mobility.
The bus route is enabled free of charge Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. It can work even on rainy days. And starting this weekend, it will also operate every other Saturday, during the morning.