Study suggests that synchronized driverless tech could improve traffic flow by 35%
Marie Donlon | May 20, 2019
Researchers were able to test the driverless cars in an "egocentric" mode and a "cooperative" mode. Source: University of CambridgeResearchers at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. are suggesting that synchronized driverless vehicles might alleviate congestion and improve traffic by roughly 35%, according to new research.
To test driverless car technology, the research team constructed a fleet of robotic cars and ran them over a model track, measuring how vehicle breakdowns impacted the rest of the fleet. Testing revealed that when the cars operated independently and without communicating with each other, the breakdown of just one vehicle resulted in significant backup. However, when the cars were synchronized or communicating with one another while circling the track, a breakdown in a single lane resulted in just a brief slowdown in traffic. Similarly, when the synchronized cars experienced an inner lane breakdown, the outer lane vehicles slowed down, making it easier for the inner lane vehicles to merge. Such demonstrations, according to researchers, suggest that the synchronized vehicles managed to improve traffic flow by roughly 35%.
To measure the performance of the small robotic cars, researchers outfitted the fleet with motion capture sensors and Raspberry Pi to enable the robotic cars to sense their surroundings along with Wi-Fi to enable communication among the vehicles and modified algorithms similar to those used in actual driverless cars to enable vehicles to make safe lane changes.
"Autonomous cars could fix a lot of different problems associated with driving in cities, but there needs to be a way for them to work together," said Michael He, an undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge.
"Our design allows for a wide range of practical, low-cost experiments to be carried out on autonomous cars," said Cambridge computer scientist Amanda Prorok. "For autonomous cars to be safely used on real roads, we need to know how they will interact with each other to improve safety and traffic flow."
The results of the testing were shared at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation being held this week in Montreal.
To see a demonstration of the robotic car traffic simulations, watch the accompanying video that appears courtesy of the University of Cambridge.
Good luck on autonomous vehicles when the leaves are blowing and the snow is a foot deep. The insurance companies also have always wanted to reduce drivers speed, so if autonomous, vehicle will not be able to exceed speed limit. This will not be a good thing if people do not think about what the realities will be.