Karsan Autonomous Atak Electric, Europe’s and America’s First Serial Production Driverless Bus, Will Be Developed in Collaboration with ITU

Offering transportation solutions suitable for the mobility needs of the era in its factory in Turkey, Karsan is now conducting a new project after Romania, for Autonomous Atak Electric, the first Level 4 self-driving bus in America and Europe.

Within the scope of the project, Karsan cooperated with Istanbul Technical University (ITU) and agreed to the use of Autonomous Atak Electric in the R&D activities of the university. With this cooperation, it is aimed to develop new projects with high commercial potential on a global scale in the field of automated vehicle technologies by the Turkish engineers of the future. Autonomous Atak Electric, developed on the 8-meter-class Atak Electric model, with the work done by the Karsan R&D team and the autonomous technology partner ADASTEC, will be delivered to ITU in the second half of the year.

At the signing ceremony held for the project at ITU Rectorate, Okan Baş, CEO of Karsan, met ITU Rector Prof. Dr.  İsmail Koyuncu and Dr. Ali Ufuk Peker, CEO of ADASTEC.

Regarding the project, ITU Rector Prof.  Dr.  İsmail Koyuncu said, “I hope the project we are working on will improve with the pioneering engineering perspective of Istanbul Technical University and turn into a success story.” CEO of ADASTEC Dr. Ali Ufuk Peker said, “Thanks to the data to be shared from R&D studies, academic publications, product and workforce demands from industry and technology companies related to autonomous vehicles will be able to be used as sophisticated and value-added information. We are very proud and pleased to undertake such a project.”

Karsan CEO Okan Baş said, “With its pioneering role, Karsan started working to manufacture the public transportation vehicles of the future. Accordingly, at the beginning of the year, we introduced Autonomous Atak Electric, the first serial-manufactured Level-4 automated bus in Europe and America. After receiving our first order from Romania, we are now happy to respond to the request of ITU, one of the most respected educational institutions in Turkey. As part of this, we aim to deliver Autonomous Atak Electric for the 2021-2022 academic year. It is an honor for us and our country that our driverless 8-meter bus will be utilized and developed within the scope of R&D activities of ITU.”

Being the only independent multi-brand vehicle manufacturer in Turkey, Karsan is now conducting a new project after Romania for Autonomous Atak Electric, the first Level 4 self-driving bus in the USA and Europe, which is ready for real road conditions. Autonomous Atak Electric, which received its first order from Romania last year during its development work, received a demand from Istanbul Technical University for the first time in Turkey, right after its manufacturing started. Autonomous Atak Electric, developed by the joint work of Karsan's R&D team and ADASTEC using the flowride.ai software on Atak Electric, Karsan's 100% electric model in the 8-meter class, will be used in project development studies within the scope of R&D activities of the university. This will pave the way for industrial and technology companies and the academia to develop technological products and services with high scientific depth and commercial potential.

Mentioning the details of the project, ITU Rector Prof.  Dr.  İsmail Koyuncu said, “One of the most important pillars of digitalization today is the artificial intelligence technology, which is gaining importance day by day and is integrated with many industries. It is now possible to use it extensively in autonomous vehicle applications and to minimize the problems caused by human error. At ITU, we had been already working on this technology. But now, thanks to the R&D project we carried out with the vehicle manufacturer Karsan and its autonomous technology business partner ADASTEC, we will both be able to implement a completely domestic and national technology and have the chance to provide information and experience to other sectors with the new experiences we will gain. I hope that the project we are working on will improve with the pioneering engineering perspective of Istanbul Technical University and turn into a success story.”

Speaking at the ceremony, CEO of Karsan Okan Baş said, “With its pioneering role, Karsan started to work to manufacture the public transportation vehicles of the future. Our electric vehicles, which we regard as an intermediate point on the way to autonomous vehicles, have covered a million kilometers in more than 30 cities in Europe in a short time. We developed Autonomous Atak Electric together with ADASTEC based on the experience we gained here, and we continue to break new grounds. Following the order we received from a Romanian technology company, we are collaborating with ITU, one of Turkey's most respected education and science institutions, for the first automated vehicle project of our country. As part of this, we aim to manufacture and deliver the Autonomous Atak Electric to ITU for the 2021-2022 academic year. It is an honor for us and our country that the Autonomous Atak Electric will be utilized and developed within the scope of R&D activities of ITU.”

Ali Ufuk Peker, CEO of ADASTEC, emphasized the added value of the work in his statement and said, “From production to sales, from financial services to service and business models, the automotive industry is one of the largest industrial and service sectors in every country in the world. Thanks to the data to be shared from R&D studies, academic publications, product and workforce demands from industry and technology companies related to autonomous vehicles will be able to be used as more sophisticated and value-added information. We are very proud and pleased to undertake such a project under the leadership of ITU.

The Autonomous Atak Electric hails the future with its features!

Autonomous Atak Electric can navigate through streets without a human driver equipped with LiDAR sensors all around. Autonomous Atak Electric comes with innovative technologies such as an advanced radar in the front, high-resolution image processing with RGB cameras and extra driving safety thanks to thermal imaging cameras. Offering a Level-4 autonomous driving experience in combination with these technologies, Autonomous Atak Electric can drive itself on a pre-arranged route. Capable of reaching speed of up to 50 kilometers per hour in all road conditions night and day when in self-driving mode, the bus can autonomously perform tasks previously done by a human driver such as pulling into bus stops on the route, managing the passengers getting on/off, navigating through roundabouts, thoroughfares or traffic lights etc.