Driverless vehicles

DRIVING INTO

THE FUTURE

AN AUSTROADS REPORT FOUND SKILL SHORTAGES FOR DRIVERS OF THE AUTOMATED VEHICLES OF TOMORROW. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO THE REPORT’S AUTHORS ABOUT INCREASING ROAD SAFETY THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING AS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES.

While Back to the Future: Part Two predicted flying cars and hover boards in the year 2015, it seems technology has not progressed as was expected in the 1980s.

However, one technology presented in the film, the self-driving car, has been exciting vehicle enthusiasts and manufacturers from across the globe for years.

Over the past decade, the road sector has seen numerous automated vehicle models and trials. In fact, some technology in self-driving cars is somewhat restricted in Australia due to Australian road rule number 297 which states a driver must have proper control of the vehicle. This means that even if fully automated vehicles were available in Australia the driver would legally have to be in control.

There are a wide range of technologies that contribute to self-driving cars. As these systems have developed some have made their way into everyday vehicles, such as adaptive cruise control or autonomous emergency braking

These technologies, which make up autonomous vehicles, have been defined by the Society of Automated Engineers (SAE) into automation levels which are classified between level zero to five.

With increasing levels of technology in vehicles Austroads commissioned research to get a better understanding of how this might impact the work of road agencies that manage driver education and licencing.

In the report titled ‘Education and training for drivers of assisted and automated vehicles’ the authors looked at the SAE’s first four levels of automation.

Systems at levels zero, one and two include technologies that support the driver (who is still in control) such as autonomous emergency braking (level 0), adaptive cruise control (level 1) and adaptive cruise control and lane centring operating at the same time (Level 2).

Level three vehicles include more automated driving features , this means that in some conditions the car can automatically perform the total driving task, until the driver has to take back control of the vehicle.

The authors found drivers are unlikely to possess the required skill to safely operate a vehicle at some at some of these levels of autonomy. These were elements such as knowledge of the safety benefits, behaviours needed to operate the systems, vigilance of the driving environment and understanding of the different operating modes of the automation.

Dr. Michael Regan, Professor of Human Factors in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, drew a parallel between autonomous vehicles on the road and autonomy in the aviation industry.

“There evidence in aviation that pilot training in the use of automated systems has improved the safety of the aircraft, we can look at the experience of pilots here to inform education and training practices for the vehicle industry,” Prof. Regan says.

Commissioner of the report John Wall, Austroads Program Manager Future Vehicles & Technology, agrees saying aircraft are a lot safer than they were three or four decades ago.

“Pilots needed to understand the information provided from the technology and then understand where there is a disconnect between what they are observing as an experienced pilot versus what the machine or computer is telling them,” Mr. Wall says.

He says the automotive industry will soon need to start talking about traditional driving skills compared to monitoring skills, which is the ability of the driver to monitor information coming from automated systems.

Some of the knowledge and skill shortage areas identified in the report were associated with technologies such as, autonomous emergency braking, speed assistance systems and lane support systems. Most of these features are more common in newer cars in Australia and are making a difference to the safety of everyday drivers.

“I think the important point is that drivers know what driving with these systems involves and what they need to do to be in proper control of current generation vehicles. To be in proper control of vehicles in the future will become a different matter as vehicles become increasingly automated,” Prof. Regan says.

“Ultimately these technologies are safety systems and we want to make sure drivers use the systems in the right way, to maximise their safety benefits.”

Mr. Wall says the report indicates that drivers are going to need these knowledge and skill sets into the future, so we need to start preparing drivers for that now.

“The report’s first recommendation is that state road agencies think about an education or promotion piece around the new technology,” he says.

“Autonomous systems are likely to bring huge road safety benefits to the

Australian road rule number 297 states a driver must have proper control of the vehicle.

community, but drivers should understand how they work so they can be aware of situations where the technology can’t be relied upon such as heavy fog which can confuse or even stop the sensors from working properly.”

A study referenced in the report found the highest ranked preference for training among car drivers was through the dealership, followed by driving, website learning, reading the manual and watching videos. However, the report suggests further research is needed to better understand the training preferences of drivers in Australia and New Zealand.

“One of the most important aspects of educating and training people is to make them aware of the safety benefits of the technology. It’s important to encourage the use of these systems and make sure that drivers are willing to use them when it is appropriate to do so,” Prof. Regan says.

“I think we will see that partnership between technology and manual driving continue to be a strong focus of vehicle manufacturers into the foreseeable future,” Mr. Wall says.

While the report concluded there is no need to change the current driver licencing framework to include testing practices that incorporate automated driving technologies, it found there was an immediate need for education.

“The feedback we got from registration and licencing agencies was that it was necessary to demonstrate that a lack of education and training with these technologies actually increases crash risk before they would consider making any regulatory changes to the licensing system,” Prof. Regan says.

On top of education, Prof. Regan and Mr. Wall say the role infrastructure plays in preventing and reducing severity of crashes will not diminish.

“Around 2016 when there was a lot of hype around autonomous vehicles, people thought they wouldn’t need to invest in roadside infrastructure in 10 to 15 years’ time. But we will still need to invest in the safety systems that we do today, because full automation is still a long way away,” Mr. Wall says.

“In addition, automated vehicles will become increasingly connected to road infrastructure, through vehicleto-infrastructure communications. This infrastructure will enhance the capabilities of these vehicles by telling the vehicle if there are roadworks or warn for black ice ahead for example,” Prof. Regan says.

“Road infrastructure is going to be critical to increasing the safety of autonomous vehicles as they become fully automated meaning they can drive themselves around the road network,” he says.

To expand the knowledge base in this area researchers at UNSW Sydney are using driving simulators, to better understand how drivers react to automated vehicle failures and interact in virtual reality with fully automated vehicles. Prof. Regan has also written a book, about to be published, with counterparts in the United States, looking at the human challenges for automated vehicles and how these can be overcome.

Mr. Wall says the focus of the Austroads program over the next five to 10 years will be on forecasting when new vehicle technologies will be seen in our vehicle fleet and helping and road agencies prepare to support the vehicles of tomorrow that will lead to a safer, sustainable and more equitable road transport system.

“I am sure more automated systems are really going to save lives but there are some new risks, it doesn’t mean we don’t use advanced technology, it just means we do have to be mindful that as new technology comes in we may see new risks emerge that our road transport agencies will need to manage” he says.