On Thursday, August 5, the convoy made a stop in the Ukrainian capital. The vehicles, created by the Italian company VisLab together with the University of Parma, set off from Milan to Shanghai last week. Their task is to prove that eco-friendly transport without a driver already exists, not in the distant future.
The minivans travel without human involvement: no one sits behind the wheel, control is taken over by the autonomous driving system from VisLab, supplemented by regular GPS. In the cabin, specialists are seated in passenger seats — they are ready to intervene if something goes wrong.
The autopilot installed on the Electric Piaggio Porter consists of stereo cameras, lasers for scanning the environment, panoramic cameras with a 180-degree view, onboard computers, and sensors. All this equipment is powered by solar panels. The traction electric drive, in areas where it is not possible to charge the batteries, will receive energy from electric generators.
After Kyiv, the convoy will head to Kharkiv, Moscow, and other cities, with the final point being Shanghai. The total distance that the unmanned minivans must cover is 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles). If everything goes successfully, this will become a world record for driverless road trips.
