When police follow a vehicle with lights and sirens engaged, human drivers can use contextual and behavioral cues to interpret a police officer’s intent, then subsequently maneuver to accommodate the officer as necessary. Likewise, an ADS vehicle needs to be able to determine whether the officer is attempting to pass while responding to a separate situation or whether it is being pulled over. Our demonstration seeks to address the uncertainty of interacting with an ADS during a traffic stop.
Temporary work zones and events that require traffic to be manually controlled by a human such as vehicle crashes, unplanned roadway maintenance, weather events, and public gatherings are common encounters in the driving world. In these cases, a temporary work zone or traffic incident management team may be deployed. Our demonstrations show an ADS can successfully navigate a temporary work zone as well as interpret commands from flaggers and manual traffic controllers.
Road users are required to yield the right of way to active emergency vehicles to enable safe and efficient passage. Most U.S. driving manuals instruct drivers to yield the right of way by merging or pulling off the roadway to the right. These interactions can become very complex when factors such as high traffic volume, absent shoulders, or confused drivers are introduced. We have demonstrated an ADS can successfully identify the presence of and properly react to an active emergency vehicle.
Utilization of cruise control helps reduce driver fatigue and variability in driving speeds which in turn makes roadways safer and more efficient. A proposed improvement to adaptive cruise control technology is called Cooperative ACC (or CACC) and relies on V2V connectivity to exchange position, speed, acceleration, and brake status information through standardized means. This allows the vehicles to safely operate in strings while maintaining stable speeds and headway gaps.
Temporary work zones or traffic operations resulting from crashes, natural disasters, or public gatherings can necessitate an interim alteration to an established traffic pattern by way of lane closure or a complete road closure. Our ADS vehicle’s internal interface allows occupants to have agency over their trip in these circumstances so they may either continue their trip, end their trip, or seek an alternative route.
ADS vehicles are expected to operate at higher levels of safety than human driven vehicles; however, ADS operating in a mixed fleet alongside human driven vehicles will be involved in crashes for the foreseeable future. ADS vehicles may have systems and modes of operation unfamiliar to first responders who need to be prepared to safely interact with the vehicle. Our demonstration shows an ADS can use its self-awareness to assist in emergencies by providing useful information to first responders.
Law enforcement establish temporary checkpoints on roadways to evaluate driver sobriety, to assist with crime control, and in the event of missing or abducted persons. Law enforcement will manually direct drivers through the checkpoint and may use flags, signs, lighted devices, or hand signs to direct drivers. We’ve demonstrated that an ADS vehicle can approach and navigate checkpoints in a manner that is not only safe but also increases the overall perception of safety for all involved.
ADS rideshare vehicles will experience downtime when untasked between missions. Ideally, ADS vehicles will have designated staging zones that do not impede businesses, emergency access, or traffic flow. However, picking up and dropping off passengers is dynamic and involves brief periods of waiting. While waiting, an ADS vehicle without a human operator may appear unattended and in the way. We demonstrate the capability of an authority to request an ADS to leave an area considered off-limits.
Drivers are expected to be constantly alert when operating a vehicle, yet hazards may not be clearly visible until they are very close or may appear suddenly with little to no warning. ADS vehicles will also encounter unexpected roadway obstacles and be expected to avoid them. We demonstrate how an ADS vehicle can effectively communicate to occupants the reason why it had to perform an abrupt evasive maneuver to ease any concerns about the vehicle’s intent and its capabilities to proceed.
ADS vehicles could increase the mobility of those who cannot drive like people with disabilities, seniors, and minors. Factors in the driving environment like road closures, double-parked vehicles, sidewalk furniture, or standing water may necessitate an alternative drop off location for passengers and passenger needs may also limit the number of acceptable destination points. We demonstrate the ability for passengers to negotiate alternative drop off locations prior to the conclusion of their trip.
When a low-speed impact involves pedestrians or cyclists, whether an airbag is deployed or not, a human driver should recognize the impact and stop as soon as possible in a safe location to assure no one is critically injured. ADS vehicles will be expected to do the same. Our demonstration shows an ADS vehicle’s awareness to detect a low-speed impact and react in a safe and responsible manner to facilitate an investigation into the event.
To foster public trust and promote continued engagement with ADS technology, occupants should always be allowed to interrupt a trip in the event of an emergency, including emergencies within or outside the vehicle. Our ADS allows passengers to interact with an internal interface to initiate a request to stop or pullover the vehicle in the event of an emergency. Simultaneously, a fleet manager will become available to provide guidance and assistance in the case of an emergency.
Laws and statutes around impeding traffic flow vary greatly. Designated lanes for slower moving traffic or passing lanes may not always be available. This scenario describes an ADS vehicle’s capabilities to perceive and acknowledge that a line of traffic has formed behind it and the subsequent maneuver it would take to allow those vehicles to pass and move beyond it.
