News in Press-centre

Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and Bakulin Motors Group will test the first MatrЁshka driverless bus on Russky Island. The cooperation agreement was signed in Moscow by the FEFU Vice President for Development Dmitry Zemtsov and the head of Bakulin Motors Group Alexey Bakulin. The parties declared mutual readiness to join the development of the technological cluster on Russky Island.

The partnership will promote the development of the research potential of the university and the company. It is planned to establish new driverless vehicle laboratories and systems for testing them on public roads in FEFU. Preliminary stages of approvals with all interested parties have already been passed.

The first joint project will be the launch of MatrЁshka pilot bus route, which will run on the FEFU campus. The training will take place in June-August 2017; the graduate students of the university and the expert developers will conduct the tests. The first bus will be launched at the third Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University from September 6 to 7, 2017.

MatrЁshka driverless bus platform received support from the interdepartmental working group under the Presidium of the Council for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of Russia, which oversees the implementation of the National Technology Initiative (NTI).

MatrЁshka is a fully autonomous transport developed by Skolkovo residents. It allows one to carry passengers, cargo and can work as a municipal vehicle.

Since Russia has not yet established the rules for regulating the movement of driverless vehicles, the first tests of MatrЁshka were conducted on the closed sites of Skolkovo. The bus was also presented at the retrograde parade in St. Petersburg.

The launch of the bus in FEFU will draw attention to the need for timely preparation of the legislative framework for the introduction of the latest developments in trial operation and will demonstrate the technological potential of the Russian Federation in the Asia Pacific region.