PennDOT Tests Safe the Integration of Vehicles Equipped with ADS in Work Zones
Researchers in Pennsylvania recently completed a critical milestone in a multi-year study on the safe integration of vehicles equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) into work zones. HASS COE and Volpe provide technical support to the ADS Demo Grantees and recently facilitated a technical peer exchange session on live on-road testing of ADS-equipped vehicles with a safety driver in work zones.
Following successful simulation tests, core team members from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Federal Highway Administration’s Pennsylvania Division, Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Carnegie Mellon University, HNTB, Michael Baker International, Drive Engineering, Deloitte, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission demonstrated testing in a closed-track environment, where the team tested a variety of scenarios where their ADS-equipped vehicle encountered work zones similar to ones that would be encountered in real life.
Work zones have historically presented significant challenges for ADS-equipped vehicles. Construction elements such as barrels, cones, flashers, flaggers, and hand signs can introduce obstacles for the safe travel of ADS-equipped vehicles through dynamic roadway environments. The PennDOT project sought to recreate a testing environment that replicated the complexity of a real-world work zone at PSU’s Larson Transportation Institute, where the closed-track testing took place.
The U.S. DOT ADS Demonstration Grants Program awarded funding to PennDOT to address the challenge of safe integration of ADS-equipped vehicles into work zones by examining if improved connectivity, enhanced visibility, and high-definition mapping will better enable ADS-equipped vehicles to travel safely through work zones.
The most recent round of closed-track testing, the PennDOT team tested two scenarios. In the first closed-track test scenario, the research team designed an environment to mimic a temporary road closure that required a two-lane shift for the ADS to navigate through the work zone. In the second test environment, the team configured a traffic signal controlling a bidirectional shared road segment in the work zone. Both tests were performed with and without cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technologies. The goal of testing was to achieve safe navigation of ADS-equipped vehicles on par with non-distracted, human-operated vehicles within work zones.
PennDOT’s specific objectives of the closed-track tests included evaluating the impact of improved connectivity between the ADS-equipped vehicles and C-V2X for intercommunication between vehicles and communication between vehicles and infrastructure. The tests also aim to improve map information dissemination to the ADS-equipped vehicles through the standardization of digital mapping information in work zones.
The research team anticipates that their proposed technologies will: 1) improve connectivity between ADS-equipped vehicles and work zone artifacts; 2) improve map consistency with high-definition digital mapping to reduce errors in lane marker off-sets; and 3) provide a starting point for standardizing a mapping format for ADS-equipped vehicles to follow in work zones.
In the final phase of the project, PennDOT will conduct live on-road testing in three of the 17 work zone scenarios they developed in earlier phases of the project. Prior to testing, PennDOT will coordinate with the work zone construction team to ensure all involved parties are aware of the on-road testing and will install communications equipment in the work zone. During the final test, the project team will collect, process, and upload camera images and data for evaluation, including sensor data. The data from the tests will be shared with U.S. DOT and the public and will remain available for at least five years to allow researchers to analyze the data under various operational scenarios and conditions.
At the conclusion of the project, PennDOT and its partners will develop and submit a final evaluation report to U.S. DOT for review and comment. The report will include a summary of any complications experienced with the ADS demonstration, specifically with any implications to pedestrian safety, infrastructure, and other vehicles. The demonstration results will be used to educate the public on how to better understand the operation of ADS. U.S. DOT and HASS COE will review the final report and will disseminate across the Department to apply to other ADS activities wherever applicable.
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