On July 1, 2022, the Vice President for Research, Knowledge and Technology Transfer of Saarland University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Dr. Charis Förster, and the Chairman of the Management Board of Autobahn GmbH des Bundes, Stephan Krenz, signed a cooperation agreement in the presence of the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Oliver Luksic.

Both partners are driving the development and implementation of new applications in the field of cooperative, connected and (partially) automated mobility. They have already successfully collaborated in various funded projects and investigated and further developed new services and communication technologies in the field of intelligent transport systems. This includes, in addition to topics of (international) standardization, IT security and data protection, the concerns of electromobility or the technical and organizational preparation for automated driving.

“With this agreement, we are strengthening and expanding our successful collaboration. Together, we are working on the development of a digitally connected and automated transportation system of the future. I am pleased that with this agreement our students can actively participate in this future through bachelor’s and master’s theses,” said university vize president Charis Förster.

Oliver Luksic: “I am delighted about the cooperation between Autobahn GmbH and htw saar. This will allow us to lay important foundations for automated and connected driving. In this way, we are strengthening Saarland as an important research and testing location.”

The cooperation will provide valuable insights at the technical and organizational level, especially in an international context, in the implementation of cross-border services in the field of C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems) and automated driving. In this way, it will be possible to work together on the future of the intelligent highway by implementing, testing and evaluating new developments in the short term.

Stephan Krenz, Chairman of the Management Board of Autobahn GmbH, explained: “The traffic system of the future will become increasingly complex due to the networking of road infrastructure and vehicles. A well-founded elaboration of the various technical possibilities and their testing in the real highway environment will be significantly advanced by the cooperation.”