Robots Control Traffic – KIT Tests Future Technology for Safe School Routes

A robot that helps children cross the street safely? What sounds like science fiction has become reality in Bratislava – with significant involvement from KIT.
A robot in a police uniform and yellow safety vest with outstretched arms ensures road safety. Marek Galinski
A humanoid robot helps children cross the street safely – tested at a traffic training site in Bratislava.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can do much more than summarize texts or answer more or less trivial questions: In a Europe-wide research project, scientists have tested a humanoid robot designed to improve road safety in the future. At a traffic training site in the Slovak capital Bratislava, researchers observed how children respond to the robot to determine whether and how such machines could be deployed in real-world traffic – such as in front of schools, at pedestrian crossings, or in complex traffic situations.

Vision Zero: No Traffic Fatalities by 2050

“This robot is more than just technology – it is a mediator between humans and machines,” says Professor Alexey Vinel from the Institute for Applied Informatics and Formal Description Methods at KIT. “It talks to children, uses gestures to show them when it is safe to cross, and communicates with automated vehicles at the same time. And it does all this without ever losing focus.”

Under the leadership of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and with support from the Slovak Technical University (STU), the collected data – from children’s reactions to sensor measurements – is now being analyzed to further develop the technology. The project is based on Vision Zero, the European Union’s goal of eliminating fatal traffic accidents by 2050. “If robots can help save lives – especially those of children – then that is a real vision of the future that we are already making a reality today,” says Vinel.

mex, July 7, 2025