TAF BW as a Key to Future Mobility
Visit from the Ministry of Transport served as an opportunity to discuss the role of the real-world laboratory for sustainable, connected, and safe mobility
Research focus: Applied Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Transportation Systems and Logistics
On Monday, June 23, 2025, Jan Wiesenberger, Executive Director of the FZI, welcomed two members of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport for an intensive exchange: Philipp Franke, Head of Department 5: Mobility Center, Networked and Digital Mobility, and Peter Baier, Head of Department 54, which is responsible for intelligent roads and automated driving. The focus was on the Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg (TAF BW) as a real-world laboratory for mobility concepts in both urban and rural areas.
Real-world laboratory for safe autonomous transport solutions
A key point of discussion was the need to consider the infrastructure for autonomous driving at an early stage and in an integrated manner, for example, in planning smart neighborhoods. The systematic linking of physical infrastructure with digital maps, sensors, and actuators provides cities, municipalities, and developers with a scalable toolbox for future mobility concepts.
Companies already use the test area’s highly accurate maps and extensive environmental data to develop and validate their systems. With the help of mobile sensor units, individual traffic scenarios can be mapped and tested at short notice on request: from complex traffic situations at intersections and construction sites to combined bicycle and pedestrian routes.
Digital twin enables early testing
With the digital twin of the test area, all relevant data is also available at a very early stage of development. This enables virtual preliminary tests and accelerated, parallel testing under realistic conditions. Recording various scenarios and behavior models plays a vital role in traffic research.
The Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg significantly contributes to the further development and testing of automated and connected driving functions under real-world conditions.
The test area is operated by the Karlsruhe Transport Authority (KVV). As an independent research institution, the FZI heads the consortium responsible for the scientific development and further advancement of the test field.
About the FZI
The FZI Research Center for Information Technology, with headquarters in Karlsruhe and a branch office in Berlin, is a non-profit institution for information technology application research and technology transfer. It delivers the latest scientific findings in information technology to companies and public institutions and qualifies individuals for academic and business careers or the leap into self-employment. Supervised by professors from various faculties, the research groups at the FZI develop interdisciplinary concepts, software, hardware and system solutions for their clients and implement the solutions found as prototypes. The FZI House of Living Labs provides a unique research environment for application research. The FZI is an innovation partner of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and strategic partner of the German Informatics Society (GI).