The transformation has begun

At MOIA, we see autonomous driving as the key technology for shaping the future of ridepooling. As an innovative tech company, we aim to develop autonomous vehicles to deliver cutting-edge solutions that ensure safe, affordable, and sustainable mobility in our cities.  

What is autonomous driving? 

Autonomous driving opens up an exciting future where vehicles become increasingly self-sufficient. By incorporating advanced automation systems into vehicles, we enable an accurate awareness of the surrounding environment. Radar, Lidar, and cameras continuously gather data, which is processed by powerful computers using intelligent algorithms. The result? Vehicles navigate safely and reliably through complex traffic situations, allowing passengers to sit back and relax. 

Nowadays, integrated digital processes, electric fleets, and autonomous driving systems are essential for modern transportation. For us, these elements are also crucial building blocks for our evolution. Autonomous driving enables us to expand our existing fleet, making our service even more accessible and adaptable to the needs of more people. For instance, it allows us to serve outer districts and offer more rides during peak times. 

This technology has the potential to enhance traffic safety while making urban mobility both more efficient and sustainable. 

The benefits of autonomous ridepooling 

Autonomous ridepooling brings a wide array of advantages for urban mobility: 

• Less traffic: With large fleets of autonomous vehicles, we can reduce the number of private cars on the road, alleviating traffic while making a positive contribution to climate protection. 
• Eco-friendliness: Electrically operated autonomous vehicles help lower CO₂ emissions, improve air quality, and reduce noise pollution – creating a cleaner, quieter environment. 
• Enhanced safety: Thanks to advanced sensors and intelligent algorithms, autonomous vehicles can detect and avoid hazards faster than human drivers, leading to safer roads for everyone. 
• Equitable mobility: Autonomous vehicles provide reliable transportation options that are available around the clock, improving access to mobility for everyone. 
• Innovative business models: This technology supports sustainable business models for local transport providers and fosters a future-ready public transportation system.
• Solutions for driver shortages: Automating vehicles helps address the growing shortage of drivers, ensuring that public transport remains reliable for all. 

Autonomous from A to B 

For autonomous ridepooling to thrive, it requires more than just a vehicle and a self-driving system (SDS). We focus on automating processes in service and fleet management to ensure that the autonomous product experience runs smoothly and remains consistently positive. 

Building trust in this new technology is essential; however, to offer comprehensive service, autonomous ridepooling must effectively manage all situations previously handled by drivers. This includes navigating through construction zones and traffic diversions, reaching new stops, planning charging breaks, and returning to the hub. 

It also addresses key questions like: 

Our vision for autonomous ridepooling is rooted in solid expertise and extensive experience. Given our current capabilities, we already understand the essential aspects of these challenges. Advancing MOIA on all fronts is the goal – transforming the service it is today into a whole new level of autonomous mobility. 

Current status of testing in Hamburg 

Our ongoing tests in Hamburg mark an exciting step towards evaluating the performance and safety of our autonomous ridepooling service under real-world conditions. We aim to find out how our system functions across different traffic scenarios and pinpoint necessary adjustments to further improve the service. A key objective of these tests is to strengthen trust in the technology and lay the groundwork for a broad rollout of autonomous ride services. 

We have selected a testing area that offers typical urban conditions – ranging from busy city streets to quieter residential neighbourhoods. This allows us to assess the autonomous system in different traffic situations and ensure it operates reliably. 

Testing will take place over several months. During this period, we'll conduct regular driving tests alongside specialised scenario tests to thoroughly examine all aspects of autonomous driving. Driving tests will evaluate the overall performance of the vehicle, while scenario tests will simulate challenging situations to ensure the system's reliability and safety. 

A select group of test participants will have the opportunity to experience autonomous driving in realistic conditions and provide valuable feedback. This testing phase will help us gain practical insights and identify potential improvements early on, allowing us to optimise our service further and prepare it for the market. We’re excited about the results and look forward to embarking on the next phase of our thrilling journey. 

Creating knowledge through simulations 

New mobility solutions aren’t just technical innovations - they also represent social progress. We’re committed to understanding how our solutions impact transportation, the environment, and urban landscapes. We recognise the far-reaching effects of these innovations and take our responsibility to investigate them seriously: our MOIA companion research* is Europe’s largest scientifically independent long-term study on ridepooling. In collaboration with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Technical University of Munich, we've collected extensive data on MOIA usage and examined its impact on the urban transportation system in Hamburg – both now and in the future.