Self-driving cars are still widely considered a technology of the future. While robotaxis are already rolling through major cities in the US and China, Europe seemingly continues to debate regulatory frameworks and the correct font size for warning labels. Yet this perception could not be more wrong.
Germany is not lagging behind the rest of the world in the development of autonomous vehicles – on the contrary, it is decades ahead, and has been for decades! A large-scale field trial with autonomously operating vehicles has been running here since the 1950s. In regular road traffic, inconspicuous, yet perpetually on the verge of market readiness.
Behind the ZuSe program (“Zukunfts-Selbstfahrend” – “Future Self-Driving”) stands a consortium of German automakers, anchored through the “Zuse Memorandum” as a cornerstone of the young Federal Republic’s industrial policy. In it, Konrad Zuse described how computing machines could guide automobiles through traffic more safely than any human driver.
It quickly became clear that tests would have to take place on public roads, and that vehicles should be clearly identifiable at all times. Initially, the designation “OF” (“Ohne Führerschein”, meaning “No Driver”) was under consideration. Ultimately, the more rational “KI”, the German abbreviation for “Künstliche Intelligenz” (Artificial Intelligence), was chosen.
For a subtle form of camouflage, the license plate code KI was officially assigned on July 1, 1956 to the registration district of Kiel. Northern Germany was an ideal test region anyway, thanks to its flat topography and moderate traffic density.
The training approach was straightforward: rather than sending humans to driving school, the cars went. After just a few lessons, the vehicles had mastered the basics of driving, recalls Hauke Tiedemann, one of the project’s first driving instructors. What made the approach particularly compelling was its technological openness: even if a temperamental Fiat consistently needed far more driving lessons than a Beetle – once they passed their test, all vehicles received the KI license plate.
Since 1956, the fleet has been consistently expanded. It currently comprises more than 100,000 vehicles, making it by far the world’s largest fleet of autonomous vehicles. By comparison: Waymo currently operates around 3,000, Tesla fewer than 1,000 robotaxis. Dirk Feddersen, spokesman for the project, emphasizes that Kiel has been consistently relying on robotaxis for years. Anyone can easily order a KI vehicle under number 680101 – no registration required.
KI vehicles have thus been moving through regular traffic for decades without attracting attention. No increase in accident rates has been observed – on the contrary: the vehicles were noted internally for their exemplary use of turn signals, consistent adherence to the keep-right rule, and a level of composure on the road that is otherwise rarely encountered in Germany.
The project also gained international experience. The test vehicle KITT (Kiel Intelligent Transportation Test) completed numerous test runs in California in the 1980s, inspiring countless founders in Silicon Valley and, not least, the DARPA Grand Challenge.
But the field trial in northern Germany is now running up against its limits. Experts speak of so-called “overfitting”: the systems perform flawlessly between Flensburg and Neumünster, but not yet optimally elsewhere. Just last week, a disoriented KI vehicle was spotted in Munich, repeatedly changing lanes at the Stachus intersection and attempting to force right-of-way at a red light by flashing its high beams – perfectly normal and well-learned behavior in Bavaria’s capital, but the KI control unit suffered a neural breakdown, came to a stop on a bicycle lane, and had to be quietly rebooted.
To gather more urban data, the field trial is now being significantly expanded. The next planned location is Cologne (whose existing license plate district code “K” makes “K-I” the natural next step in the program). Internally, the city is considered an “ideal stress test” due to its traffic volume and the Rhine region’s characteristic attitude toward road rules.
Critics within the project point out that the driving-school training approach can at best achieve human-level driving performance. A completely new generation of systems is therefore being tested in parallel in Augsburg, under the project name “A-GI” (“Auto, Genuinely Intelligent”). Insiders report that this system already significantly surpasses the existing KI system.
Buoyed by these successes, market readiness is now being targeted. The approval process is already underway. Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder personally established Task Force BER (“Brilliantly Expedited Regulation”) for this purpose.