TIER IV and TUM Support Autonomy Development for Munich City Buses Using Autoware

TIER IV and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) announced Nov. 11, 2026, that they will support development of an autonomous driving system for large city buses using Autoware at the German Center for Future Mobility (DZM) in Munich. The effort is being carried out through the TUM Autoware Research Center by TIER IV, established in October 2026, and is positioned as an early real-world application of the partners’ multiyear research collaboration.

The development will apply TUM’s experience with Autoware-powered autonomous buses in Japan to a new vehicle platform and Munich’s driving environment. The partners plan to keep safety personnel on board even after testing in a controlled environment, placing the project at the stage of evaluating the conditions for deployment in public transportation.

The focus of this effort is the process of adapting Autoware to a new European vehicle and urban environment. While experience deploying autonomous buses in Japan will be used to port and adjust the software stack, MAN will handle the vehicle control mechanisms and low-level software, and TUM will handle the sensor configuration and autonomous driving system. In other words, the project outlines an integration framework that combines vehicle controls, sensor selection and software, rather than simply installing existing software as is. Its focus on large city buses also makes it a test case for applying the technology to a vehicle platform different from shuttles and similar vehicles. The research center’s establishment and the multiyear collaboration began in October 2026, and the bus development is an early real-world application of that work. We previously reported on TIER IV and TUM accelerate Level 4 autonomous driving development by integrating NVIDIA Hyperion and Autoware. In relation to the integration described in that article, this project involves large-bus development at DZM and details the division of responsibilities for the vehicle, sensors and software, as well as the stages leading to route operation. However, no direct link between the technical configurations or results of the two projects was described. The project’s implications for the industry lie in its staged approach: integrating research results into a vehicle system, testing it and then operating it on existing public transportation routes. The operating plan also includes safety personnel on board, so at least at the time of the announcement, the project envisages an operation with safety measures in place rather than fully driverless service. RISE is also focused on building organizational and regulatory foundations, in addition to scientific and technical work. This means that preparations covering evaluation and operating conditions will proceed alongside vehicle development, rather than relying on vehicle technology alone to move into real-world operation. The TUM professor’s description of support totaling €20 million over three years concerns the DZM Munich project as a whole, not an allocation for Autoware development. Points to watch include when testing in a controlled environment will transition to operation on MVG routes; the vehicles and driving conditions involved; the safety evaluation criteria; and the operating arrangements, including onboard personnel. The announcement describes route operation only as a plan and does not specify these conditions or what test results will be made public. The partners also say they will incorporate lessons from real-world testing into Autoware and related evaluation methods and contribute them to open-source projects where appropriate, but the content and timing of those contributions remain to be seen.

The project is part of RISE, a consortium led by TUM. MAN Truck & Bus (MAN) will equip the buses with vehicle control mechanisms for autonomous driving and low-level software, while TUM will design the sensor configuration and develop the autonomous driving system using Autoware. TUM will apply its experience and knowledge from deploying Autoware-powered autonomous buses in Japan to a new vehicle platform and driving conditions in Munich. After test runs in a controlled environment, the partners plan to operate the buses on existing routes operated by MVG (Munich Transport Company), with personnel on board to ensure safety. A TUM professor said the German Federal Ministry of Transport is providing a total of ¥3.53 billion (€20 million) over three years for autonomous bus development at DZM Munich, in a project with MAN and MVG. The partners said they will incorporate knowledge gained from system integration and real-world testing into Autoware and related evaluation methods, and contribute it to the open-source ecosystem where appropriate.

Experience deploying Autoware-powered autonomous buses in Japan will be applied to large city buses in Munich. The plan to incorporate lessons from real-world testing into Autoware and evaluation methods, and contribute them to open-source projects where appropriate, creates a channel for operational knowledge accumulated in Japan to be shared through its application to European vehicles.