The IPA2X robot can be thought of as an intelligent assistant for pedestrians – an autonomous rover aimed at improving safety at crossings, for example, for children, people with mobility issues and all pedestrians. It has two main parts: The base, or if you will, a chassis with wheels driven by electric motors. On the two-meter pole is the second part of the robot, basically its brain, LiDAR, and cameras, thanks to which it can recognize objects in its surroundings, mainly approaching vehicles. This head also has an HMI, i.e., screens that signal to drivers and pedestrians. In addition, the vehicle can communicate with the approaching car, for example, through its infotainment system.

Put simply, it’s an intelligent, moving traffic light – you can see it in the video version of this podcast on the Škoda YouTube channel or on skoda-storyboard.com. This rover was developed by two Italian startups, Hipert and Lifetouch. Škoda Auto is also involved: The company even created a special mask for the Enyaq iV that can give signals to pedestrians. Prague’s CTU helped with the communication aspect between the rover and vehicles or unique applications. The entire EU-funded project is managed by the Technical University of Munich – and we’ll be discussing it in more detail in today’s SIMPLY CLEVER PODCAST.

The IPA2X project is supported by EIT Urban Mobility an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
EIT Urban Mobility acts to accelerate positive change on mobility to make urban
spaces more liveable. Learn more: eiturbanmobility.eu