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Opel Joins Stadt:up Project, Aims to Transform Urban Mobility via Advanced AI

The artificial intelligence sector is going through a significant boom – some people are eager to incorporate AI into their daily lives, while others fear these technological advancements. One way AI is currently being explored is in the automotive industry, specifically in automated driving.
2023 Opel Astra Electric 33 photos
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When you hear of an autonomous vehicle, the first brand you probably think of is Tesla, as the autonomous driving features are one of the significant reasons why Elon Musk’s company became so popular. But other auto manufacturers are working on their autonomous driving solutions.

One example is Stellantis and Stadt:up, which stands for "Solutions and Technologies for Automated Driving in Town: an urban-mobility project." Opel, Stellantis’ German representative, participates in this joint project as an AI development partner.

Stadt:up aims to find end-to-end, scalable solutions for the future of urban mobility and to enable automated driving in urban areas by the end of 2025. Opel will contribute via its experts at the Rüsselsheim Engineering Center – they will have an essential role in developing vehicle environment recognition based on AI and determining appropriate reactions in automated driving in specific situations.

Frank Jordan, the Head of Innovation Germany at Stellantis, said that the engineers at Rüsselsheim boast many years of experience in this field and that by participating in this project, Stellantis continues to support young scientists while also strengthening relations with research institutions outside of Stellantis.

Stadt\:up
Photo: Opel
An additional goal for Opel is to showcase an innovative prototype with advanced environment recognition in urban areas by the end of 2025.

The consortium project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and involves 22 partners. The kick-off event for it took place on the campus of Robert Bosch GmbH in Renningen, Germany.

But how advanced will the automated system be? Well, the Stadt:up technology must tick a few boxes. First, the vehicles must handle complex inner-city traffic scenarios safely and react adequately to all situations within milliseconds. If you live and drive in a city, especially in a crowded one, you know how hectic and unpredictable traffic can be. There’s no doubt that an AI could have better reactions than us humans. But programming it to do so is a highly challenging task, especially since there are so many variables.

The system should be able to take in the surrounding environment and localize other road users via prediction, interaction, and cooperation with other vehicles. At the same time, it should take into account the behavior of the user’s own car and plan the appropriate maneuvers.

Opel Astra Electric and Sports Tourer Electric official
Photo: Opel
Of course, it’s equally crucial for the system to identify another type of traffic, such as pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, and others, and to adapt accordingly.

The vehicle systems enable the technology to work, with equipment such as cameras, LiDAR, and radar. However, these don’t do anything on their own - this is where the AI experts at the Rüsselsheim site come into play. The team led by Dr. Nikolas Wagner and project manager Frank Bonarens is in charge of improving AI algorithms for perception and fusion, placing particular emphasis on the analysis and management of challenging traffic situations.

Another aim of this research is to refine the traceability of deep neural networks to understand why the system reacted in a certain way in various situations. Furthermore, this way, the network can be used to check the plausibility of an automated driving system.

Ultimately, by exploring the inner working of the system, the engineers will provide building blocks for environment recognition while also efficiently testing and validating artificial intelligence functions.

Opel Astra Electric and Sports Tourer Electric interior official
Photo: Opel
With the participation of the Rüsselsheim AI experts from the Stellantis research network in the extensive Stadt:up initiative, Opel continues its tradition of pre-competitive cooperation. After all, intense competition usually leads to better motivation and results. But in this specific case, AI is still in a very early stage, so companies and organizations should initially work together to build the basis of this groundbreaking technology. The fact that Statdt:up is collaborating with renowned scientific partners from leading universities and research institutions will only lead to faster and better results.

Bosch leads this consortium project, comprising multiple automotive companies, leading suppliers, and technology partners. There’s a final event planned for the end of 2025, where the partners will present the demonstrators developed in Stadt:up. Regarding Stellantis and its Opel brand, the goal is to showcase the performance of the environment recognition system with its own test vehicle.

All in all, although we might not realize it right now, the automotive industry is going through radical changes. Electrification has already taken the world by storm, and the rapid development of technology is set to transform how we view mobility. Artificial intelligence will slowly be implemented in our vehicles, but let’s not forget that all these changes aim to keep us safe and improve our day-to-day lives, even though they sometimes might sound scary.
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Editor's note: The photos in the gallery are used for illustrative purposes.

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About the author: Mircea Mazuru
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Starting out with a motorcycle permit just because he could get one two years earlier than a driver's license, Mircea keeps his passion for bikes (motor or no motor) alive to this day. His lifelong dream is to build his own custom camper van.
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