A route known in German as Protocollstrecke and often used by diplomats and visiting delegations has been made digitally linked. Currently, research institutes and sectoral structures are working to expand this concept to the whole country and to introduce an automated system for autonomous driving. At this point, the most basic issue to be solved is not to make vehicles smarter; enabling vehicles to become much more connected to the systems around them.

Ding!” Hearing this voice, Anon Mall glanced at the message that came to his phone for a second, but he did not pay much attention to the message. Mall, 23, avoided distractions, especially while driving. Mall works at the DAI Laboratory inside the Technical University of Berlin. DAI is short for “distributed artificial intelligence” and this institution is seen as the most sophisticated autonomous driving research center in Germany.

The “Level 5” autonomous driving infrastructure is expected to be implemented in Berlin shortly. it is used for information from vehicle sensors and external sensors. For this reason, the system will be fed from the 5G network and IoT infrastructure, which also includes mobile technologies. “Autonomous driving will not be possible unless we properly manage this complex and safety-related system,” said Jörg Tischler, Vice President of Connected Mobility Customer Solutions at T-Systems. He adds: “In other words, the current situation is: A car doesn't know what to expect when it turns the next corner.” This is extremely important for the three tools currently used in the DAI project.


3,350 Miles, 1.4 Million Cars

A short trip from Berlin's Charlottenburg district to Bradenburg Gate, the Mall keeps its hands on the knees, not the steering wheel. However, it is also on the alert to intervene in a possible emergency. For example, as the vehicle approaches one of the city's busiest spots on the digitized route, also known as DIGINET-PS, through which 43,000 cars pass a day, it keeps its attention higher and higher.

Dr. According to Şahin Albayrak, “An autonomous car that can handle this kind of traffic can be used anywhere in the world.” In fact, the main purpose of DIGINET-PS is to make this possible. Dr. Albayrak is Head of the Department of Intermediate Technologies for Business Applications and Telecommunications at the Technical University of Berlin. He is also the founder and director of DAI Labs and a founding member of Deutsche Telekom Laboratories (T-Labs). In a recent article by Berliner Morgenpost, the future of traffic is Dr. He was saying that it would be written in this part of the city under the supervision of Albayrak. In DIGINET-PS, it is aimed to make autonomous driving safer by using vehicles with limited features in the first stage. In addition, the results and findings to be obtained at this stage will be discussed in Berlin's 3rd Stage. It is planned to be transferred to the rest of the 350-mile road network. According to the Berlin Ministry of Urbanization and Environment, 1,417,866 vehicles were put on the road at the beginning of this year. This is the highest rate seen in Germany. Moreover, this figure does not include trucks, motorcycles and public transport.


All this makes this project quite challenging. The majority of autonomous vehicle work is carried out by vehicle manufacturers or suppliers that directly serve them. These companies test sensor technologies and develop algorithms, taking into account their product roadmaps and portfolios, thereby laying the foundations for regulations and product approval processes. Collaborations and industry partnerships in the field of future data platforms are also making progress. But many of these research and development projects get stuck in isolated solutions. 

To achieve the autonomous driving infrastructure of the future nationwide, millions of sensors in cars, edge devices and infrastructure will need to generate an enormous volume of data. It is important to manage and make sense of this process with a network approach. “Many of the standard monitoring and processing tools are incapable of processing large volumes of data or interpreting complex, contradictory or incomplete information from tools and infrastructure,” says Tischler. Artificial intelligence, anomaly detection and learning algorithms are required to bring connected IoT environments to life. In this process, in cooperation with T-Systems, technical competencies such as stability, operability and performance, as well as concepts such as security and compliance come to the fore. DAI Laboratories has recruited 120 research assistants and students to address this issue.


Tossing Between Protecting Data and Protecting Monuments

Driving east, the Mall crosses the Landwehr Canal and passes the world's only streetlight museum. Gas-powered streetlights are a hallmark of Berlin, and the whole city is like a museum for that matter. With DIGINET-PS, a new dimension is added to this historical legacy. Dr. Albayrak, “In some cases, data protection is not the biggest problem in IT-based and communication-based innovation projects.” says. Sensors in vehicles and infrastructure do not record personal information and video images are used by pixelating. In addition, the chairman of the Berlin Data Security commission and a number of Senate-based institutions are integrated into the project on privacy. Dr. Albayrak, “Actually, the biggest problem is the preservation of historical elements and monuments.” says. The hundreds of street lamps Anon passed by are currently under protection as historical monuments. Dr. Albayrak, “We are currently talking to some agencies and discussing whether we can use these beacons to place our sensors. We can change their internal mechanisms without changing their appearance.” says. However, looking at the examples from the past, it can be thought that this may take some time.

That's why representatives from the industry, the research world and different segments of society were involved from the very first stage of the testing infrastructure. In addition, these plans of the university receive serious support from the government. The German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has decided to fund this project as part of its initiative titled “Creating Digital Test Environments in Germany for Automated and Connected Driving”. Berlin Mayor Michael Müller and senators from the Berlin Senate expressed their support for this research project. Dr. Albayrak: "These are very important to us." says. However, infrastructure within the city is also an issue that local governments should be involved in. Some highways are also in this status. One of the difficult issues for the four-kilometer DIGINET-PS Protocollstrecke is an intersection with 40,000 vehicles a day. At this point, the project is trying to find answers to questions such as what kind of connection system is required for 40 thousand vehicles to communicate with each other and their surroundings at the most crowded times, and how many sensors will be needed. Also, it's not just in the open air; At sunrise, it will be necessary to travel in twilight, fog, night conditions, snow and rain. As in other test areas at DIGINET-PS, it's not just cars that move here.

Bicycles, pedestrians, wheelchairs and skateboarders will also be on the move. But what if the electricity goes out in Charlottenburg? Will cars pull over and stop? What needs to be done in an emergency scenario? It tries to find answers to questions such as what kind of connection system is required for 40 thousand vehicles to communicate with each other and their surroundings at the busiest times, and how many sensors will be needed. Also, it's not just in the open air; At sunrise, it will be necessary to travel in twilight, fog, night conditions, snow and rain. As in other test areas at DIGINET-PS, it's not just cars that move here. Bicycles, pedestrians, wheelchairs and skateboarders will also be on the move. But what if the electricity goes out in Charlottenburg? Will cars pull over and stop? What needs to be done in an emergency scenario? It tries to find answers to questions such as what kind of connection system is required for 40 thousand vehicles to communicate with each other and their surroundings at the busiest times, and how many sensors will be needed. Also, it's not just in the open air; At sunrise, it will be necessary to travel in twilight, fog, night conditions, snow and rain. As in other test areas at DIGINET-PS, it's not just cars that move here. Bicycles, pedestrians, wheelchairs and skateboarders will also be on the move. But what if the electricity goes out in Charlottenburg? Will cars pull over and stop? What needs to be done in an emergency scenario? you will have to travel in snow and rain.