Can you imagine a walk among volcanoes with an electric bus as a tour guide?
The Lanzarote Volcano Route can now be done in a driverless electric minibus, which also acts as a tour guide for this original tour. It is a vehicle that debuts on a 14 km route with curves and ramps, with an inclination of up to 25%, and that has 12 seats for passengers. The electric vehicle can go at a maximum of 24km/h and is always controlled by cameras, screens and sensors, so it is presented as a very safe means of transport that also promotes electric and sustainable mobility.
A sustainable project
It is a CITIES Timanfaya project that emerged in 2018 in the Art, Culture and Tourism centers of the Cabildo, in Lanzarote, with the collaboration of the Carlos III University and some Spanish companies, such as MAPFRE or the Spanish Road Association. The objective of this system is to improve tourist mobility on the Route of the Volcanoes, in the Timanfaya National Park, to promote their visits in a sustainable way and enjoy this environment, which may have some similarities with the planet Mars, since it is totally volcanic.
This project will also allow people with disabilities, children and the elderly to enjoy this route traveling in the electric minibus, because they will not have the obligation to experience this route on foot. In fact, the path is more than 27 km of hiking, which translates to more than five hours walking through somewhat complicated terrain.
Inside the electric bus there are six seats and two screens, since the rest of the passengers will have to hold on to the roof bars. Before starting the route, a person in charge presses the yellow button and three light beeps sound, indicating that the route is about to begin. The bus is small and has a system called LIDAR on the roof, which is responsible for monitoring the complex landscape and allows the route of the autonomous electric vehicle to be modulated, depending on the obstacles and the narrowness of each section of the road.
People are not quite used to riding in an autonomous vehicle but it is very safe because it is automated and has GPS technology, which guarantees the location of the vehicle at all times with great precision. 3D machines and several specific location programs for driving have also been incorporated, for safe and comfortable movement and with remote control. This system has had a complex installation, since there are sections of the route that do not have connectivity and in many points the GPS signal was lost and, being a National Park, it was not easy to touch or change too many things.
