Gliwice, Poland – 5 December 2025
Autonomous Systems, a technology company founded and operating in Gliwice, has launched the Smartbus Pilot together with PKM Gliwice at the city’s depot. The project brings together local engineering expertise and the experience of a municipal public transport operator, advancing a new category of smartbuses – standard city buses equipped with autonomous driving functions for depot operations.
The pilot uses a minibus equipped with the SmartDEPOT™ autonomous driving system. The compact platform accelerates engineering work, while SmartDEPOT™ has been designed from the outset for integration with regular 12-metre city buses.
Why autonomy should start in the depot
Depots are controlled environments with predictable rules and clearly defined boundaries – yet they remain dense, spatially constrained and operationally demanding. This makes them the most practical and most valuable starting point for the introduction of bus autonomy.
Automating depot maneuvers reduces the number of low-speed tasks performed by drivers, freeing up time for revenue-generating passenger service. Eliminating the most stressful moments at the end of a shift – such as maneuvering in tight spaces or parking – improves safety and working conditions. At the same time, the autonomous system learns from thousands of repeatable, measurable maneuvers performed daily by every vehicle in the fleet.
Depot autonomy is the fastest route to practical, scalable deployment – and the natural testing environment for smartbuses.
Local collaboration: technology built in Gliwice, tested in Gliwice
Local collaboration is at the heart of this pilot. By bringing together a Gliwice-based technology company and the city’s own public transport operator, the project creates a direct bridge between innovation and everyday operational reality.
PKM Gliwice
- Provides authentic, day-to-day operational depot conditions, enabling testing and validation in a real working environment
- Supports innovation developed by local technology teams in Gliwice, creating space for research, iteration and collaboration
- In 2025, expanded its fleet with 25 new Solaris buses (10 electric and 15 hybrid) and upgraded its charging infrastructure, strengthening its position as one of the most dynamic operators in the region
Autonomous Systems
- Leads the development of the SmartDEPOT™ autonomous driving system
- Conducts scenario-based testing, safety validation and system development
- Prepares SmartDEPOT™ for integration with standard city buses
Together, the partners are laying the foundation for future deployment of autonomous depot operations.
A next step toward deployment-ready smartbuses
The smartbus pilot marks an important step toward practical and scalable autonomous depot operations. The minibus enables rapid engineering iteration, while the system architecture is prepared for deployment on standard city buses.
“We want to support innovations that are created here in Gliwice and serve our residents. When we say ‘The future is here,’ we truly mean it – and this pilot is a concrete example of that mindset in action. We see real operational value in this direction and a clear opportunity to continue modernising the technical facilities used by public transport operators,” said Mirella Musiolik, President of PKM Gliwice.
“Developing autonomy in Gliwice and testing it together with the municipal transport operator gives us a unique development cycle. We are grateful to PKM Gliwice for their openness, trust and partnership – it is thanks to their support that we can accelerate engineering work and validate autonomy in real operating conditions. The minibus enables rapid iteration, but the goal remains the same: SmartDEPOT™ deployed on full-size city buses,” said Jan Gramatyka, Co-CEO of Autonomous Systems.
