KFU showcases developments in intelligent mobility at Kazan Digital Week
On October 30, the Kazan Digital Week 2026 international forum hosted a session entitled Domestic Developments for Intelligent Mobility as a Foundation for Technological Independence. Experts discussed how domestically developed IT solutions and artificial intelligence are transforming the transport sector and improving road safety.
The discussion was moderated by Rifkat Minnikhanov, President of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Opening the meeting, he emphasized that intelligent mobility is becoming a key instrument of the country’s technological sovereignty.
“Our task is to bring transport, infrastructure, and data together into a single system and ensure the transition from development to practical implementation. We need a transport system that reduces travel time and costs and makes opportunities more accessible,” the moderator noted.
He added that the transition to multi-domain systems — integrating air, land, and water — was the forum’s main substantive outcome. According to Minnikhanov, Tatarstan is developing an integrated training pipeline, while universities will serve as hubs for introducing autonomous technologies into agriculture.
The session’s central event was a presentation by Dmitry Chikrin, Director of KFU’s Institute of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Systems Engineering. He presented a project entitled Retrofit Kits for Autonomous Machinery Based on LLM Omni-Agents.
The researcher noted that the capabilities of machine learning systems have fundamentally changed in recent years, making it possible to control autonomous machinery using agent-based systems. At the heart of the development is a hardware platform called Black Cube.
“It really is a black box measuring 25 × 25 × 25 centimetres — a universal platform running agents. It can perform a wide range of tasks, from controlling actuators and autonomous vehicles to integration into various enterprise ecosystems and logistics systems,” Chikrin explained.
According to the speaker, the platform can support a fully fledged agent capable of interpreting a wide range of inputs, including under challenging lighting conditions, and responding to unpredictable situations.
“For example, consider the well-known ethical dilemma. If an elderly woman is crossing the road, what should the vehicle do: continue towards her, or attempt to veer off to the side? This system will seek to minimize the risk,” the researcher explained.
Such systems enable new applications for vehicles, including robotaxis. Passengers will be able to interact with the vehicle by voice, asking it, for example, to “choose a scenic route while avoiding potholes.” The project also has a substantial track record of industrial integration: KFU’s systems have been implemented by KAMAZ and the Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ-Tatarstan) over the past four years.
Marsel Nigmetzyanov, General Director of Yedinyi Operator LLC, discussed the infrastructure needed for new forms of transport. He addressed the issue of paying for services and toll roads, emphasizing that the market currently features numerous disconnected applications operated by different concessionaires.
“Autonomous technologies are advancing, and at some point in the foreseeable future, there may no longer be drivers behind the wheel. There will be no one to make payments. Essentially, a vehicle must therefore be able to make its own payments, manage its own servicing, and monitor its own condition. Without these electronic identification tools, it will be impossible to deploy autonomous vehicles on public roads,” Nigmetzyanov stated.
The speaker proposed the concept of a unified electronic identifier. In his view, it would create a common environment for all paid services, bring user bases together, and provide an additional source of revenue for government budgets at various levels. Such a chip could be introduced in two ways: either through agreements with vehicle manufacturers to install the device at the factory, or by involving the State Traffic Inspectorate in issuing or selling identifiers during vehicle registration.
The discussion thus demonstrated that technological independence in transport involves not only developing hardware and software, but also establishing a new regulatory framework and infrastructure, and training highly qualified professionals.