Kombinom research project – autonomous shuttles for rural areas

Simulation as a decision support system for the use of autonomous minibuses in rural areas for the combined transport of people and goods.

Autonomous shuttles could offer new opportunities to make rural areas more attractive for more people to live in. At the same time, however, economic viability must be ensured. Researchers from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Frankfurt UAS) and Hannover University of Applied Sciences (HsH) analysed how this can be achieved, for example, through the combined transport of people and goods, in the Kombinom research project.

The aim of the research project Kombinom_2, which now follows on from this, is to develop a simulation application for the introduction of these autonomous, combined shuttles. The project is being carried out by the Research Lab for Urban Transport (ReLUT) of Frankfurt UAS and the DAS HUB of the HsH in cooperation with SimPlan AG, Senozon Deutschland GmbH and tbw research GesmbH.

The project consortium includes the following partners:

The project Kombinom_2 is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure as part of the mFUND innovation initiative with a total of around 1.6 million euros and lasts 3 years (start 01.11.2021).