The BusBot Trial is all about engaging with the community and receiving as much feedback as possible. Community members will be encouraged to provide their thoughts on the trial through short surveys and fill out a participation card when they take a ride on the vehicle. Community members will also gain insight into the trial and have the option to provide further feedback through engagement stalls.
In late 2017 the NSW Government opened expressions of interest calling on industry to help automated vehicles transform Regional NSW.
Through the expression of interest Transport for NSW announced it was seeking to provide seed funding and partner with industry, researchers, local councils and businesses to develop and co-deliver a number of connected and automated vehicle trials across regional NSW.
The Coffs Harbour BusBot trial was proposed by a group of project partners led by Busways and was selected as one of two regional locations to host a trial.
We wanted to target locations with real world use cases that support local customers and local transport needs. The locations also needed sustainable local support to establish and deliver the trial.
Each phase will see BusBot do a different number of trips each day, ranging from eight trips per day to 30 trips per day.
BusBot, an EasyMile EZ10 Generation 2 vehicle, is fitted with several features that make it safe.
• Fully Redundant 360° LIDAR view
• Internal and External cameras
• Emergency stop buttons
• Qualified Attendant
• Intercom and emergency stop button
• Audio and visual warning alarms
• Audio and video intercom
• Projectors, indicators, stop lights and retro-reflectors
• A fail-safe brake
• A fire extinguisher and vehicle safety kit are placed on board
• The ability to monitor and manage incidents (obstacle avoidance, emergency stop management and on-board issues)
• A Fleet Management system that incorporates cybersecurity and redundancy features
BusBot has two driving modes – automatic and manual. In automatic mode, the vehicle is self-driven whereas in manual mode, the on-board operator can control the vehicle.
The BusBot will detect that its path is blocked through its long range LIDARS. The vehicle will slow and stop before the obstacle. Depending on the type of obstacle, the BusBot may be able to suggest a path to avoid it, or the attendant may need to take control of the vehicle to maneuver around the obstacle before the BusBot can restart autonomous driving.
No, during the trial period the service will be free of charge. We only ask you complete a customer survey to help us understand and improve your experience
Yes, BusBot is wheelchair accessible and the automatic ramp can be operated both inside and outside the bus.