On January 31, 2023, Dr. Günther Prokop, Professor of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Dresden, presented the Smart Mobility Lab (SML) project to the Hoyerswerda City Council. This will be built in the industrial park in Schwarzkollm. This is a research campus that will be built on an area of around 39,000 square meters. Hagen Lorenz from the TU’s building management department was also on hand to explain the construction aspects.
The SML will consist of three areas. A visually appealing test hall covering 10,000 square meters, a second building with offices and seminar rooms, and an outdoor test circuit. Storage, garages, workshops, laboratories, or charging stations for vehicle batteries will be integrated, and the office area will also be a showpiece.
What is to happen here and in the city was also described. Put simply, it’s about bringing together automated and cooperative driving, flying and robotics as a technological super-accelerator for tomorrow’s mobility on the road, in the field and in the air. It is also about building state-of-the-art research infrastructure and creating a software ecosystem for an active startup scene.
One of the goals is to establish rules for the approval of autonomous vehicles. To this end, the Institute for Safety of Connected and Automated Road Traffic (Sivas) is to be founded, which will propose appropriate testing and approval criteria to the federal government and the EU. A city co-creation lab is also to be set up to involve the public. This will be a meeting place for citizens to inform themselves and participate in the scientific process. Hoyerswerda will also become a small real laboratory, as cameras will be used to collect data on road traffic at various intersections over a period of two years. This data will be used for further research. Martin Bärwolff from the TU Institute for Integrated Traffic Planning and Road Traffic Engineering was connected via video telephony and explained the project, which will start this year.
The Smart Mobility Lab should ideally be completed in 2026, creating 300 new jobs in the medium term. In addition to scientists, skilled workers are also needed in the administrative and skilled trades, among other things.
More about the Smart Mobility Lab can be found HERE
