Major Test Beds Gear Up for Autonomous Vehicles
Burney Simpson
Lonely test bed seeking turned-on autonomous vehicles for afternoon frolic. Sun, rain, or snow, let’s go, go, go. P.S. Will consider connected vehicles if the mood is right.
One intriguing aspect of the growing driverless transportation field are the autonomous-vehicle test beds where researchers laboriously test their Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I), and Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P) elements.
Broadly speaking, these test beds are used to research, test, and validate connected-vehicle and autonomous-vehicle technologies through collaborative partnerships with auto OEMs, parts suppliers, communication firms, technology companies, academia and other researchers, government agencies, and others.
It should not be a surprise that the major sites are located in states where the testing of driverless cars has been legalized — California, Michigan, and Florida. Maybe the other two, Nevada and the District of Columbia, will soon announce test beds.
Here are a few of the most important autonomous-vehicle test beds.
CALIFORNIA’S GOMENTUM STATION, CONTRA COSTA TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, CONCORD
The newly-branded GoMentum Station in Concord, Calif., grew from a U.S. navy weapons station that officially closed in 2007. Concord is about 30 miles from San Francisco and around the corner from Silicon Valley.
GoMentum brags it is the largest autonomous vehicle/connected vehicle test bed site in the country, offering 5,000 acres and 20 miles of paved roads, a variety of cityscapes, numerous intersections with and without traffic signals, and straight and curved roads laid out in an urban grid style.
This March, Honda announced it would begin testing its Acura RLX sedan on the site, joining Mercedes as a major OEM with vehicles at GoMentum. Mercedes signed a one-year testing deal with GoMentum last October.
The current GoMentum Station partners are Contra Costa Economic Partnership, Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Honda, ITS America, Stantec, and TIA.
FLORIDA’S LEE ROY SELMON EXPRESSWAY, TAMPA HILLSBOROUGH EXPRESSWAY AUTHORITY, TAMPA BAY
This 10-mile test bed from Tampa to Brandon, Fla., is led by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) and the Automated Vehicle Institute at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The managers say the expressway offers reversible elevated lanes with a controlled closed circuit network that allows up to 12 hours of uninterrupted testing, and a system that integrated with the city of Tampa’s local roads and intersections.
Last year, Audi generated headlines when it tested a self-driving A7 on the Expressway, going up to 25 mph with Gov. Rick Scott in the driver’s seat.
MICHIGAN’S M CITY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MOBILITY TRANSFORMATION CENTER, ANN ARBOR
Officially opening this July is the 32-acre M City, the $6.5 million facility that will have five miles of roads, 40 building facades, angled intersections, a traffic circle, a bridge, a tunnel, gravel roads, and a four-lane highway with entrance and exit ramps. (The photo here is an aerial shot of M City).
Proponents say the building facades can be rearranged, and the streets will feature “mechatronic pedestrians” that jump in and out of traffic.
The university, the state of Michigan, the city of Ann Arbor, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began preparing for M City with the testing in 2012 of connected vehicles and infrastructure technology on active Ann Arbor roads. This used 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC). Plans call for further expansion of connected-vehicle testing on live roads throughout Southeast Michigan.
M City proponents note that it is more than just a technology testing center, as it offers researchers the ability to learn about the possible impact of autonomous and connected vehicles on everything from infrastructure design, to cybersecurity, legal issues, value to the customer, and societal impact.
Leadership Partners that have donated a minimum of $1 million to the M City project include Denso, Ford, GM, Honda, Iteris, Qualcomm, State Farm, and Toyota.
VIRGINIA SMART ROAD, VIRGINIA TECH TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE, BLACKSBURG
The test bed that may be the most low-key is the Virginia Smart Road managed by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
The Smart Road is a closed-research-facility with a 2.2 mile test track built to interstate standards with two paved lanes, three bridges, a signalized intersection, 24/7 controlled access, and 14 pavement sections, including an open-grade friction course, and in-pavement sensors that can track moisture, strain, vibration, and other driving and weather impacts on the road.
Smart Road has the ability to make its own weather, creating rain, snow, and fog, and claiming it can produce four inches of snow within an hour. For its summer-time simulation, it can make rain drops of various sizes, to create everything from a mist to a cloud burst.
The Smart Road has a variable-lighting test bed, and features an on-site data acquisition system, a differential global positioning system (GPS), road access and surveillance, and a signalized intersection.
A control room is staffed 24/7 by a full-time staff. Engineers control the lighting and the weather, and researchers observe highway traffic and driver performance using surveillance cameras.
The Smart Road is near Blacksburg in Virginia’s southwest. Plans call for it to be extended to 5.7 miles and connect Blacksburg to Interstate 81.