Playing a pioneering role in the electric and autonomous transformation of public transportation in the world, Karsan continues to attract attention with its innovative models and superior service approach. Increasing its global presence day by day, Karsan stands out as the first choice of many countries, especially in Europe. In this context, the world’s first, Autonomous e-ATAK, a Level 4 public transportation vehicle that can move on a planned route without a driver, has started service in Finland.
Finland’s first autonomous public transportation vehicle
Recently, Karsan delivered an 8-meter Autonomous e-ATAK to Finland’s Remoted company in cooperation with the Norwegian VY Group, one of the largest public transport authorities in the Nordic countries. Now, Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK has started passenger transportation service with autonomous driving on the public transportation line with the opening ceremony held in Tampere, Finland. The ceremony was attended by senior representatives from Karsan, Lempaala and Nysee, the public transportation operator of the Finnish state, as well as the Finnish press. Autonomous e-ATAK, which started service in the Tampere region of the country, will initially operate on a 5.5 km route between Haurala and Lampaala. In the following period, the route of the vehicle will be extended after the necessary preparations are completed. Karsan CEO Okan Baş said that Autonomous e-ATAK is Finland’s full-size autonomous bus that carries ticketed passengers and is being used on public transportation routes on roads open to traffic, following the US and Norway. “Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK, which will serve in the city of Tampere, which is located between two lakes, will follow a 5.5-kilometer round-trip route. The 17-stop route will include traffic lights, intersections, pedestrian crossings and other challenging elements for autonomous vehicles, but Autonomous e-ATAK can easily overcome them as a model that has proven its success worldwide. Our maximum speed will be 30 km/h on the first part of this route, but when the second route is added, our vehicle will reach 40 kilometers per hour.” he said. Dr. Ali Peker, CEO of ADASTEC, said: “As ADASTEC, we had the opportunity to prove once again the superior performance and reliability of our autonomous driving software in this project. Our 5.5 kilometer route between Hauralantie and Lempäälä will expand to 10.5 kilometers in the future and will continue to serve more passengers. Thanks to our experience in extreme weather conditions and our advanced technology, we provide safe and comfortable journeys in all climatic conditions. This opening once again demonstrates our commitment to sustainable and innovative public transportation solutions. With our vision of shaping the city transportation of the future, we will continue to revolutionize public transportation systems.”
Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK broke new ground in the world by carrying passengers on a 5-kilometer route for 1.5 years on the Michigan State University campus in the USA. In Stavanger, Norway, the Autonomous e-ATAK, which has been carrying ticketed passengers in open traffic since 2022, recently expanded its existing route by updating it with a route including a tunnel, and successfully passed another challenging test as the first autonomous vehicle to pass through a tunnel. Karsan has commissioned autonomous projects in seven different locations with the Autonomous e-ATAK, which has now started operating in Finland after the USA, Norway, France, Romania and Turkey. Karsan has achieved 75 thousand kilometers of autonomous driving experience and carried over 27 thousand passengers. Finally, Karsan, which has signed an airport autonomous project in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, will be the first brand in the world to carry out airport transfers with an autonomous vehicle with the two Autonomous e-ATAK buses it will deliver at the end of 2024.
“We will grow in the Scandinavian market“
Stating that there is only one bus used in public transportation in the Haurala region, Okan Baş continued as follows: “Autonomous e-ATAK will support this vehicle, so all people using public transportation in the region will have the opportunity to travel with our vehicle. We continue to transform the world’s transportation infrastructure, especially in Europe, with our electric and autonomous vehicles. As Karsan, the high-tech mobility solutions we have developed with the vision of being ‘One Step Ahead in the Future of Mobility’ continue to be the first choice of the world’s historic cities. In addition to our main target markets, we serve with our hi-tech models in a wide geography from Japan to the USA. We will continue to grow our share in Scandinavian markets and be the primary solution partner for public transportation problems with our autonomous and electric vehicles.”
Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK: The future of driverless transportation with high technology
Karsan Autonomous e-ATAK features a large number of LiDAR sensors located in different parts of the vehicle. In addition, many innovative technologies such as advanced radar technology in the front, high-resolution image processing with RGB cameras, and extra environmental safety thanks to thermal cameras are among the features of the Autonomous e-ATAK. Autonomous e-Atak, which can offer all these technologies as Level 4 Autonomous in cooperation with ADASTEC, can move on a planned route without a driver. The vehicle, which can reach a speed of 40 km/h in autonomous driving in all weather conditions, day or night, performs all operations performed by a bus driver, such as approaching the stops on the route, managing the boarding and alighting processes, providing dispatch and management at intersections and crossings and traffic lights, without a driver.