Autostat - The first driverless Russian bus Matryoshka will be tested on the Russian Island (Far Eastern Federal District). The tests are being conducted in cooperation with Bakulin Motors Group company, as reported by the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) press office.
“The launch of Matryoshka on a pilot route, which will run on the campus of the FEFU, will be the first joint project. The preparations will take place in June-August 2017” - as stated by the university. As noted, the first driverless bus will be launched during the third Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held in FEFU campus on 6-7 September.
“The launch of the bus in FEFU will highlight the need for a timely preparation of the legal base for the introduction of new developments to trial operations and demonstrate the technological potential of the Russian Federation in the Asia-Pacific region” - as noted by the university. In addition, the educational institution has planned to create new laboratories for unmanned vehicles and systems for testing them on public roads, as written by Prime agency.
As announced by the director of Volgabus Alexei Bakulin previously, the driverless Matryoshka minibuses will be launched this year. The vehicles can be used as communal of freight transport. The first driverless bus model will have a capacity of 8 to 12 passengers and models for 4-6 and up to 20 passengers are on the way. The price of the prototype is near 8.5 million rubles at the moment as told by Bakulin, however, it will come down to 3.5 million rubles following serial production.
Related news: Volgabus intends to launch the production of driverless bus in 2017
