After five months of trial operation, the autonomous driving test field in Baden-Wuerttemberg (TAF-BW ) was launched on May 3, 2018. At various traffic areas in and around Karlsruhe, Bruchsal and Heilbronn (in future a total of 200 km), companies and research institutes will test technologies and services relating to networked and automated driving under real traffic conditions – for cars and buses as well as commercial vehicles – such as delivery service vehicles. Regulatory and legal framework conditions will also be reviewed.

Conception, planning and expansion of the TAF-BW are subject to a consortium consisting of the FZI Research Center for Computer Science , the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology , the Universities of Karlsruhe and Heilbronn , the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, Systems Engineering and Image Evaluation IOSB , and the cities of Karlsruhe, Bruchsal and Heilbronn as well as associated partners. High-precision 3D maps were created and sensors for real-time traffic monitoring as well as associated influencing factors were installed for the project. The test field operator is the Karlsruhe Transport Authority (KVV) . A similar project is operating on the A9 in Bavaria under the name providentia .