Inrix has presented its AV Road Rules platform, which allows cities and road authorities to assign, validate and manage traffic rules and restrictions for AVs and enables AVs to report back problems with infrastructure.
When it comes to AVs, signage and road striping are not the ideal way to communicate changed road rules (for example when there are road works). Currently, AVs have to interpret information intended for humans, which can be an imprecise process.
Seven cities and road authorities and four AV operators have signed on to support Inrix AV Road Rules at launch, and others have expressed interest in joining when it expands later this year. The initial set of pilot users includes cities and road authorities with a variety of sizes, climates and geographies. It will launch in Austin, Texas; Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts; Southern Nevada; and in the Midlands (England) and Scotland, UK.
Jaguar Land Rover, May Mobility, nuTonomy (part of Aptiv) and operators running Renovo’s Aware platform are the initial vehicle-side participants. They will help refine and expand the platform.
Chris Holmes, connected and autonomous vehicle research senior manager at JLR, said, “Self-driving vehicles are stimulating conversations globally, but they are in fact a very local challenge. Road conditions and layouts can vary drastically over a matter of miles and so it is vital that self-driving is facilitated collaboratively.
“Local traffic authorities play a significant role in this. Inrix AV Road Rules provides improved information to the car, ensuring our self-driving technology is the most safe, sophisticated and capable to deal with challenging real-world environments as we enter new markets across the globe.”
By Illya Verpraet