From June to October, the City of Tartu trialled an innovative self-driving cultural bus that transported visitors between the Tartu City Museum and the Estonian National Museum. This four-month pilot, led by local and international partners including Auve Tech, Yazaki Innovations, Avanti R&D Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting, and the Estonian Embassy in Tokyo, aligns with Tartu’s role as the European Capital of Culture 2024.
The project was first discussed between partners during the CityTech event in Tokyo in 2023 and has since evolved into one of Tartu’s most international testbed initiatives. The shuttle, developed by Auve Tech, offered passengers a smooth, secure, and interactive ride, thanks to cutting-edge machine learning, computer vision, and communication technologies contributed by partners Yazaki Innovations and Avanti R&D Inc.

The autonomous shuttle project featured cameras and sensors installed on Tartu’s infrastructure, enabling real-time data sharing with the shuttle. This information included details on approaching vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists at intersections, allowing the shuttle to navigate complex traffic scenarios safely and efficiently. The project also tested technologies aimed at enhancing the passenger experience by providing personalized information during the ride.

Avanti R&D showcased these AI-driven computer vision and sound recognition technologies at the 2024 Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. This international stage highlighted Tartu’s approach to autonomous urban mobility, attracting significant interest for its practical applications and sharing insights from the project’s deployment in Estonia. With the success of the Tartu cultural bus, the city hopes to set an example for integrating advanced technology into public transport to foster safer and more sustainable urban mobility. 

Source: Embassy of Estonia in Japan