Germany's path to autonomous driving: $20 million for Motor AI!

Germany's path to autonomous driving: $20 million for Motor AI!

The topic of autonomous driving is becoming increasingly important in the mobility landscape. This doesn't go unnoticed: Motor AI, an up-and-coming German scale-up, recently raised a whopping $20 million in a seed funding round to further develop its cognitive AI systems for autonomous driving. Loud Trending Topics The financing round was led by Bohnenia Capital and eCAPITAL. Several German private investors also participated in this round.

With the fresh capital behind it, Motor AI plans to use the technology on public roads in Germany this year. What’s special about it? Motor AI is the only German company to develop a Level 4 system for autonomous driving based on data reasoning. This means that the vehicles should be able to make structured and transparent decisions. Type approval according to European and German regulations is already planned for 2026, while safety drivers are currently supposed to ride on board the vehicles.

Challenges and opportunities of AI in road traffic

However, the implementation of such technologies raises questions about security. A practical example brings this to the point: Verena, 39, plans to use her intelligent car for a ten-day trip with her family. Although the vehicle is equipped with modern assistance systems that drive independently and analyze traffic situations, she experienced a worrying situation. During a trip, her car exceeded the speed limit of 60 km/h, which led her to manually control the vehicle again. This experience highlights the uncertainties associated with AI in driving and the need to vet these systems. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is already dealing with the issue and is committed to technical guidelines and standards for secure AI, as shown on bsi.bund.de is to be read.

The challenges are complex: Artificial intelligence in autonomous vehicles must be fed extensive training data in order to be able to navigate safely. Problems such as misinterpreted traffic signs or incomprehensible decisions can have serious consequences. A 2018 test run by US scientists showed that an AI system misinterpreted a stop sign based on a piece of paper, pointing to weaknesses in the training database.

The role of the Fraunhofer Society

In order to further strengthen the safety aspect of AI in road traffic, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is striving to develop reliable solutions. Loud Fraunhofer IKS Five sub-projects are working on securing the AI ​​functions of autonomous vehicles. A higher-level use case is reliable pedestrian detection, which is essential for the safety of road users. One of the sub-projects is working on the development of algorithms that ensure that pedestrians are recognized even in critical situations.

The aim of these efforts is to demonstrably meet the security requirements for AI and to transparently present ongoing risks. A test plan should help to evaluate the security requirements and promote exchange with standardization committees. This commitment ensures that our roads will continue to be safer in the future, while innovative technologies like those from Motor AI pave the way for the mobility of tomorrow.