Before self-driving cars become a reality on the roads around the world, some manufacturers have decided to use this feature to increase production efficiency. One of the places where self-driving cars are moving without drivers is BMW’s factories in Dingolfing and Leipzig.

In these plants, the 5 Series and 7 Series models, after assembly, move independently along a marked route from the production area to a small test track and then to the finishing area. It is an Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW) system, and the vehicles move thanks to LiDAR sensors placed along the route, which cooperate with an external motion planner and an environmental model that controls the vehicle’s movement.

BMW plans to equip the Leipzig plant so that in the future 80 percent of the cars produced at this plant can move autonomously. The plan is also to expand this system to other plants.

Source: BMW

Gallery: