Researchers at WMG at the University of Warwick in the UK have developed new technology solutions for safer and more efficient automated driving when navigating complex road junctions such as roundabouts.
Working in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, TRL and the University of Surrey, researchers from the intelligent vehicles team at WMG have developed a proof of concept demonstrator. The demonstrator focuses on unleashing the power of edge and cloud computing, using a ‘connected roundabout’ at the University of Warwick’s main campus.
The Cloud Assisted Real-time Methods for Autonomy (CARMA) project was established to create secure and resilient cloud-based platforms to enable safe and robust semi-autonomous functions on future cars in the short term, with the vision of achieving fully autonomous vehicles.
Professor Mehrdad Dianati, head of intelligent vehicles research at WMG, said. “We expect autonomous vehicles to be much safer, much more efficient and much more comfortable than human-driven vehicles. Unfortunately, with existing sensor and computing technologies, it is difficult and expensive to achieve the level of accuracy and reliability of the perception of the environment that’s expected.
“CARMA not only demonstrates how these concepts could be implemented in practice, but also highlights what the impact of such technologies might be. This research will help manufacturers, technology developers, policy makers and road operators to make informed decisions on how they will adopt technologies in future road infrastructure, regulations, products and services.”
CARMA researchers installed eight infrastructure cameras as offboard sensors at the roundabout to monitor the environment and stream video to a base station called ‘Edge’. Using two-way communication, Edge processes its own live information with information received from nearby connected vehicles. This processed data containing object, traffic, road layout and lane availability information is broadcast and received by the vehicles.
Dr Graham Lee, principal engineer at WMG, added. “At complex road junctions, the CARMA platform can help enable on-road autonomy by providing additional real-time data about the environment through the use of offboard sensors and computing. This gives vehicles the ability to navigate complex road junctions safely and efficiently.”
The testing infrastructure was supported by the Midlands Future Mobility project, Innovate UK and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. The Open Innovation Vehicle Platform research vehicle used within the project was developed with support from the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and used alongside the CARMA research vehicle provided by JLR.