Digital Nauryz: Driverless Car Demonstration Run Held in Astana

On March 21, 2026, in Astana, as part of the citywide Nauryz celebrations, a demonstration run of a driverless car developed by the Lu Ban Workshop at D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University took place. The car’s programming and route map were developed by workshop staff.

The demonstration run was organized by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan with support from the Astana City Akimat and Astana Innovations. The general sponsor was Halyk Bank.

The run took place at the city’s festive events venue and was part of a program aimed at popularizing modern technologies among a wide audience. Holiday guests were able to see driverless transport in action firsthand and assess its potential for use in the urban environment.

The driverless car demonstrated the potential for integrating artificial intelligence technologies into Smart city infrastructure, including navigation systems, data processing, and interaction with the urban environment. In the future, similar solutions will be integrated into urban infrastructure, including the launch of driverless taxis as one direction for developing intelligent transport.

Halyk Bank emphasized the importance of supporting technological initiatives:

“Supporting technological initiatives and developing an innovative environment is one of Halyk Bank’s priorities. We find it particularly symbolic that the driverless car demonstration takes place during the Nauryz celebrations – a holiday of renewal and new opportunities. Halyk Bank readily supported the idea of holding a demonstration run as part of Digital Nauryz, as such projects vividly demonstrate the potential of Kazakhstani engineers and the contribution of domestic developers to the development of the digital economy and artificial intelligence technologies,” the bank noted.

In 2026, Nauryz is being celebrated in a new format – Digital Nauryz, timed to coincide with the declared Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.

Holding such initiatives demonstrates a new celebration format where national traditions combine with modern technologies, creating a space for citizens to get acquainted with digital solutions.