UMV Peoplemover: Towards a Modular Fully Automated Vehicle Research Platform German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Author/Creator:

Pohl, Eric, author.

Schmid, Fabian, author.

Münster, Marco, author.

Siefkes, Tjark, author.

Stuebler, Tillmann, author.

Mohammed, Shawan, author.

Conference Name:

2026 Stuttgart International Symposium (2026-07-08 : Stuttgart, Germany)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Embedded software.

Automated vehicles.

Computer software and hardware.

Sensors and actuators.

Architecture.

Parts.

Vehicle drivers.

Local Subjects:

Embedded software.

Automated vehicles.

Computer software and hardware.

Sensors and actuators.

Architecture.

Parts.

Vehicle drivers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Warrendale, PA SAE International 2026

Summary:

The UMV Peoplemover 2+2 is part of a modular vehicle family (Urban Modular Vehicle) that includes derivatives for passenger and cargo transport in urban environments. The platform supports automated movers as well as conventionally controlled vehicles with a human driver, ensuring high flexibility across applications. The modular platform enables the extensive use of common parts, allowing the efficient and cost-effective realization of multiple vehicle variants. The increased share of common parts also improves sustainability by reducing derivative-specific parts, material usage, and production complexity. A drivable demonstrator of the UMV Peoplemover 2+2 has already been realized. The vehicle is designed for the automated transport of up to four occupants in a 2+2 vis-à-vis seating arrangement and is targeted at demand-oriented shuttle services. While the drivable demonstrator validated the proof of concept, it lacked the core Level 4 hardware and software stack for automated driving functions. To address this limitation, we deployed a software-defined vehicle architecture to the concept. This paper introduces the novel e/e-architecture and software stack enabling the Peoplemover 2+2 to initiate its first shuttle service at the German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.) in Stuttgart. We further detail the deployed multi-modal sensor suite, comprising modern solid-state LiDARs and a 4D imaging radar, which were carefully selected to meet the operational design domain requirements while also serving as a versatile research platform for future advanced perception studies. Finally, we analyze the SDV-based modular software stack, which facilitates rapid application development through straightforward switching between commercial, open-source, and in-house software domains, and supports parallel execution of domain-specific functions across all three software sources

Notes:

Vendor supplied data

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license