Ford, Virginia Tech Go Undercover To Develop Signals That Enable Autonomous Vehicles To Communicate With People
September 13, 2017 by Ford![Ford, Virginia Tech Go Undercover To Develop Signals That Enable Autonomous Vehicles To Communicate With People](images/articleimages/ford-virginia-tech-autonomous-2017-02-400.jpg)
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The suit creates the illusion of a fully autonomous vehicle, which is necessary to test and evaluate real-world encounters and behaviors. The researchers then went to work experimenting with three light signals to test the communication of the vehicle's intent:•Yield: Two white lights that move side to side, indicating vehicle is about to yield to a full stop •Active autonomous driving mode: Solid white light to indicate vehicle is driving autonomously •Start to go: Rapidly blinking white light to indicate vehicle is beginning to accelerate from a stop The simulated autonomous Transit Connect was driven on public roads in northern Virginia – home to a density of traffic and pedestrians – throughout August, with researchers capturing video and logs of pedestrian reactions. More than 150 hours of data over approximately 1,800 miles of driving was collected in an urban environment, including encounters with pedestrians, bicyclists and other drivers. External signals were activated more than 1,650 times at various locations around Arlington, Va., including at intersections, parking lots, garages, airport roadways, and various other locations. Numerous high-definition cameras mounted in the study vehicle provided a 360-degree view of surrounding areas and captured the behavior of other road users. This data will be valuable to understanding if other road users change their behaviors in response to self-driving vehicles and the signals they employ. 'This work is of value not only to vehicle users and manufacturers, but also to anyone who walks, rides or drives alongside autonomous vehicles in the future,' said Andy Schaudt, project director, Center for Automated Vehicle Systems, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. 'We are proud to support Ford in developing this important research.' Creating an industry standard Ford is already working with several industry organizations to push toward creation of a standard, including the International Organization for Standardization and SAE International. A common visual communications interface most people can understand across all self-driving vehicles in all locations will help ensure safe integration into transportation systems. Ford is also working on ways to communicate with those who are blind or visually impaired as part of a separate work stream. 'Preparing for a self-driving future is going to take all of us working together,' said Shutko. 'That's why we're developing and advocating for a standard solution so it can be adopted by the industry and applied to all self-driving vehicles.' About Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com. About Virginia Tech Transportation Institute The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute conducts research to save lives, time, and money and protect the environment. As one of seven premier research institutes created by Virginia Tech to answer national challenges, VTTI is continually advancing transportation through innovation and has impacted public policy on national and international levels. For more information, please visit http://www.vtti.vt.edu.
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