How far is autonomous driving in the city really? STADT:up shows results.

With the closing event at the Aldenhoven Testing Center, the research project STADT:up presented the results from three and a half years of research and development work. On June 10 and 11, 2026, the project partners presented technologies and concepts for automated driving in urban traffic. Representatives from science, politics, industry and municipalities gained insights into the developed systems and were able to experience vehicle prototypes during driving demonstrations.

Urban traffic challenges in focus

Automated driving is regarded as an important building block of future mobility concepts. According to the project consortium, urban traffic in particular poses high demands on automated systems. Among the causes are dense traffic flows, complex intersections, temporary obstacles as well as interaction with pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.

Against this backdrop, STADT:up pursued the goal of developing end-to-end driving automation for urban traffic. The systems should also operate reliably under changing environmental conditions and in complex traffic situations.

AI across the entire process chain

The development focused on the comprehensive use of Artificial Intelligence. According to project information, it is employed for environment perception, data fusion, behavior prediction and maneuver planning.

A focus was on sensor-assisted environment perception. The developed sensor fusion combines data from different sensors into a holistic picture of the surroundings. This should also provide reliable information in the event of failures of individual sensors or under adverse weather conditions.

Moreover, the project partners integrated AI methods for predicting the behavior of other road users. The automated vehicles should be able to plan their driving maneuvers safely and efficiently on this basis.

Communication and user interaction

In addition to vehicle automation, the project dealt with the interaction between vehicle and environment. Prototype light-based signals were developed for communicating driving intentions. In addition, adaptive control and display concepts were developed that are intended to support the transition between different automation levels.

Digital twin for urban mobility

STADT:up linked the development of automated driving functions with studies on urban mobility. Together with cities, the project partners analyzed requirements, usage conflicts and possible future scenarios.