Autonomous Atak Electric by Karsan has been launched. The target? Northern Europe

Karsan held yesterday the online debut of Autonomous Atak Electric, ready for series production for Europe and USA. The first order was signed in Romania. The Autonomous Atak Electric can navigate through streets without a human driver equipped with LiDAR sensors all around. It 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. The vehicle offer a Level-4 autonomous driving experience.

Karsan CEO Okan Baş made public that the autonomous bus is to be used on a route inside a university in Michigan in the US to transport students inside the campus, and pointed out that “Our target market for Autonomous Atak Electric is Northern Europe.”

Autonomous Atak Electric launched

The Autonomous Atak Electric was modeled on Atak Electric, Karsan’s 100% electrically powered electric bus in the 8-meter segment. Karsan’s R&D team worked in collaboration with the US-based tech company ADASTEC. Level-4 Autonomous software developed by ADASTEC has been integrated into Atak Electric’s electrical-electronic architecture and electric vehicle software. Autonomous Atak Electric was modeled on Atak Electric, powered by 220 kWh batteries developed by BMW that is capable of producing 2500 Nm torque with 230 kW engine power. The Atak Electric can carry up to 52 passengers.

Emphasizing that the autonomous Atak Electric offers Level 4 autonomy thanks to its drive-by-wire equipment and dedicated software that processes and directs information in technological sensors, Karsan CEO Okan Baş said: “We bring to the market a truly autonomous public transport vehicle equipped with a central management system that enables constant communication with the vehicles allowing for human intervention when necessary and enabling data exchange with third-party software. On this level, the buses can be driven autonomously or non-autonomously either in a campus or in real road conditions on a pre-defined route. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to fifty kilometers per hour in self-driving mode – whether in day or night time, or in rainy or snowy road conditions. With its superior capabilities, Autonomous Atak Electric can pull into bus stops on the route, manage the passengers getting on/off, and navigate through roundabouts, thoroughfares or traffic lights. In short, it will minimize risks by making traffic more smart. ”

Autonomous Atak Electric ready for series production

He continued: “Atak Electric, which we launched recently and prepared for serial production, was only an intermediate stop. The Autonomous Atak Electric, which you can see here today, is our main focus. From day one, we have planned it with this purpose in mind. As a matter of fact, we look at our range of electric vehicles as a stepping stone to self-driving ones. Of course, we want to start with Atak and move forward. And Autonomous Jest Electric is also on the cards. Every product Karsan will launch from now on will be autonomous-compatible. It will be possible to adapt them to all Level-4 autonomous features. Meanwhile, Karsan’s investments in electric vehicles continue at full speed. Fully electric vehicles in the 12-18 meter segment will soon be on the roads.”

ADASTEC CEO Ali Ufuk Peker said, “We broke new ground on many levels with the Autonomous Atak Electric. Thanks to our collaboration with Karsan, we made our autonomous vehicle software platform flowride.ai available to the public transport industry. With the Autonomous Driving software, we have full-sized commercial vehicles operated on specific routes without a human driver. Our software platform ensures the continuous and secure operation of the autonomous vehicle fleet in a cloud environment. Mobile applications integrated into our software platform provide passengers and fleet managers with instant access to information about autonomous vehicles.”