Sydney motorways automated car trial nudges road users closer to driverless vehicles
THE state’s largest on-road automated vehicle trial is happening on Sydney’s motorways. The planning enables upgrades to cater for driverless cars, expected on our roads in five years.
Parramatta
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THE state’s largest on-road automated vehicle trial is happening on Sydney’s motorways.
Experts predict driverless cars will be on the roads in five to 10 years.
Transurban is doing everything it can to ensure its road infrastructure is ready for it.
Partnering up with Transport for NSW and Roads and Maritime Services, they began the state’s largest on-road automated vehicle technology trial this year.
A range of manufacturers have offered their vehicles to Transurban to put them through their paces.
Everything from automatic steering, cruise control, adaptive cruise control and automatic acceleration and deceleration are analysed for what is classed as SAE level two which is three steps from full automation.
Transurban’s NSW business operations group executive Kristine Cooney said the trial was the most comprehensive of its kind in Australia.
“This is all about safety. It’s estimated 90 per cent of crashes on Australian roads are due to human error,” she said.
“The potential benefits from this technology are tremendous if the roll out is carefully managed and properly overseen.”
In level two, vehicles take over steering and acceleration and deceleration in fixed scenarios. The driver is still in control but the features can help a driver stay in their lane and slow down to avoid cars in traffic.
It is thought this level will help with traffic congestion and reduce accidents on Sydney’s roads.
The idea behind the six-month trial of level two cars is to find the problems in roads and the vehicle systems before these vehicles become “the norm”. Line markings, LED signage, off ramps, speed signs on the back of buses, shadows on the road and glare have already been flagged as issues during the trial.
Behind the wheel of a Mercedes Benz E400, Peter Conroy from Driving Solutions, is able to explain the process. As one of the drivers, he sets off at different times of the day and in a range of conditions to put the vehicles through their paces on a 120km route of the M2, M7 and M5 motorways, Eastern Distributor and Lane Cove Tunnel in both a west and east direction.
“Glare has had an effect on static signs and in both cars during trial two, they performed better with electronic signs at night,” he said.
“In the Melbourne trial they found the electronic signs less reliable. The signs have a refresh rate and flash multiple times of which the human eye cannot see.
The electronic signs in Melbourne were turned down to a slow refresh rate because they last longer but the impact of that is the sign recognition feature doesn’t read it as accurately because it’s too slow.”
Arup’s senior communications engineer Ron Au, is also working on the trial. He’s excited about the next generation of technology for driverless cars.
“Level three is where the car has the autonomy but you still need to look ahead. It can drive itself to a degree. The Uber incident where the car hit the pedestrian (in Arizona, USA) was a level four,” he said.
“And level five is the one they’re trialling at Sydney Olympic Park where there is no (human) control.”
In the E400, if Mr Conroy takes his hands off the wheel it warns him to put them back on.
“If I keep them off on purpose the car will slow down and brake, put the hazards on automatically and stop the vehicle because there’s no one in control,” he said.
This takes about 30 seconds from warning to complete stop. The motor enthusiast believes there will always be a place for human-driven cars.
His dream? “Lanes for automation and lanes for non-automation,” he said.
Further testing of automated vehicle technology on urban and regional roads will follow the trial, led by the Centre for Road Safety.
TELL US: Happy to be a “back seat driver” as we advance towards driverless cars or prefer to have your hands firmly on the wheel?
LEVEL 2 FEATURES
Lane keep assist
Traffic sign recognition
Adaptive cruise control
Highway assist
DRIVERLESS CARS
Level 0 — No autonomous vehicle controls but can be enhanced by warning systems like blind spot indicators. The human does all the driving. Majority of cars fall in this category
Level 1 — Minor assistance like a system that operates steering. Or the car may help with acceleration/deceleration in certain scenarios. Cruise control or lane correction technology qualify as level one technologies
Level 2 — Vehicles take over both steering and acceleration/deceleration capabilities in fixed scenarios. The driver is still in control at all times. Features can help a driver stay in their lane and even slow down to avoid cars in traffic
Level 3 — The lowest tier in automated driving. Cars safely control all aspects of driving in a mapped environment. Human drivers still need to be on board and override any tasks the car is unable to
Level 4 — No human interaction needed. It can stop itself if the systems fail. They will be able to drive from point A to point B. Humans will still be able to manually drive when conditions alter eg off-roading
Level 5 — Completely autonomous. Besides determining the destination, humans have no other involvement in driving and they cannot intervene. They will excel in off-road driving and other terrains level four may not. In prototypes of this level, there are no steering wheels or pedals
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