Work is underway in the garage of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) on a WEpod. From June 2016 onwards, these self-driving vans will travel between the Ede-Wageningen railway and bus station and Wageningen University & Research Centre. Passengers will be able to book a ride using an app. TU Delft is one of the partners in the WEpod project.
The six-person vans have a GPS on board that was developed by the Department of Geoscience & Remote Sensing as well as 3D imaging and a radar system developed by ME and other partners. These allow the vans to observe their surroundings and always stop for other road users. These systems are currently being calibrated in CEG’s garage. The Department of Transport&Planning at CEG is studying the safety aspects of the route the vans will travel and their integration into the transport system.
Project Coordinator Riender Happee (see photo) links ME and CEG as well as coordinating new projects such as 'Safe interaction with vulnerable road users' (Recently granted by STW).
On 28 January 2016, Minister Schultz-Verhaegen boarded the WEpod during its first official test drive in Wageningen.
