On October 23, 2024, the Consumer Day Baden-Württemberg took place at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart under the motto “Hey AI, what about consumer protection?” Organized by the Ministry of Food, Rural Areas, and Consumer Protection, the event provided a platform to discuss the opportunities and risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in consumer protection. A highlight in the "Market of Opportunities" was the presentation of an autonomous e-scooter developed by the Institute for Systems Theory and Automatic Control (IST) at the University of Stuttgart, titled “Autonomous Rolling: E-Scooters as a Future Concept in Urban Transport?”
Designed as a mobility solution for urban environments, the autonomous e-scooter impressed visitors with its ability to balance independently and navigate without human input. Equipped with advanced sensors, AI-based environment detection, and intelligent control systems, it can autonomously plan routes and avoid obstacles.
The project aims to create a sustainable and flexible mobility solution that provides quick access to transportation. A potential application scenario is an on-demand service, where the e-scooter autonomously rides to users upon request — a possible innovation for urban transportation.
The Consumer Day offered the team of the IST a valuable opportunity to showcase the autonomous e-scooter. Special thanks go to project leaders Robin Strässer and Marc Seidel, as well as to the students Julian Häberli-Ziefle, Christian Dratwa, and David Hambach Ferrer for their support and to MobiLab for the financial support of the project.
