Cooperative and Automated Vehicle Initiative CAVI

What is the CAVI initiative?

Queensland Government's CAVI (Cooperative and Automated Vehicle Initiative) is comprised of three pilot projects—the connected vehicle pilot, connected and automated vehicle pilot, and the vulnerable road user pilot.

The intent of these pilots is to explore next generation transport safety technologies, understand the safety impacts, and ready government, industry and our customer.

The connected vehicle pilot will be conducted in Ipswich, however, the location of the other two pilots has not been finalised at this time—these are likely to reach across a number of jurisdictions

The initiative is in the development phase. On road testing with public participants is not expected to begin until late 2019. Find more information, including a call for public participation.

What are connected vehicles and what are the benefits?

Cooperative or connected vehicles are those that can 'talk and listen' to each other, roadside infrastructure, traffic management centres, and other users, using cooperative intelligent transport systems (or C-ITS).

The vehicle uses the information from its sensors and other connected users and determines if there is relevant information or warnings to present to the driver. The driver then takes evasive or alternative action. The driver is in control at all times.

Information and warnings presented to the driver are intended to improve comfort, safety, and mobility and emissions—there are a large number of use-cases that can be deployed under a standardised development environment.

The technology is already available internationally in some vehicle models in the EU and US. In Japan, the Toyota Prius has a right turn collision warning; red light caution; traffic signal advisory change; and an emergency vehicle notification.

Based on international studies, the expected crash reduction from eight safety use-cases is approximately 20% (assuming 100% penetration of the technology). A moderate penetration of the connected technology in Australian vehicles is expected to yield a benefit (societal benefits based on a reduction in crashes) of $3.20 for every $1 spent. This is expected to be much higher with the inclusion of use cases that target improvements in congestion and emissions.

What is a Cooperative Automated Vehicle (CAV)?

A CAV (or cooperative automated vehicle) uses capabilities of both autonomous and connected vehicle technology to send and receive messages using cooperative ITS technology (C-ITS) to automatically perform corrective tasks.

Automated vehicle:

• operates in isolation to others
• uses sensors to see where other vehicles are
• uses radar, camera, lidar and ultrasonic sensors
• limited detection range.

Connected vehicle:

• communicates with nearby vehicles and infrastructure
• sees around corners
• knows what other connected vehicles are doing
• operates in cooperation with others.

Connected automated vehicle (CAV):

• uses both automated and cooperative vehicle capabilities
• vehicle senses/receives message, ie. safety hazard
• vehicle automatically performs corrective task.

Why is the Queensland Government looking at future vehicle technology?

• Safety for all road users is a priority for the Queensland Government. We are committed to reducing the burden of road trauma on our communities. Our ambitious, long-term vision for Queensland is zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads, and we know that vehicles that are connected or automated will assist to make this vision a reality.

• CAVI will lay the technical foundations for Queensland Government's next generation of smart transport infrastructure. The pilots will enable us to:

1. Test that these technologies can be used on our roads
2. Adapt digital and physical infrastructure, and data, to support new technologies
3. Identify technical issues, and confirm preferred technical solutions
4. Identify new infrastructure vendors, and confirm these vendors are ready for deployment
5. Provide evidence of the societal impacts, investment rationale and business model, and
6. Raise awareness and increase the consumer understanding of these technologies.

What is the scope of the Ipswich Connected Vehicle Trial?

• The Ipswich Connected Vehicle Pilot will involve around 500 participants' vehicles retrofitted with cooperative intelligent transport system devices.
• Participants will test the technology in late 2019 for about nine months.
• A number of safety use cases will be tested, including emergency electronic braking light warning, slow or stopped vehicle warning, advanced red light warning, a warning to a turning vehicle of the presence of a pedestrian or bicycle, road works warning, road hazard warning, back of queue warning, and in-vehicle speed.

What are automated vehicles and what are the benefits?

• Five levels of automation are defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers. Today's vehicles may have some automated vehicles, but they only operate up to a level 2—eyes and hands on.
• Highly and fully automated vehicles are not commercially available for public road use today.
• Currently there are some vehicles that are level 2 or 'partially automated' vehicles on our roads. But we're working towards levels 3 or 'conditional automation' vehicles where the vehicle can drive itself some of the time and level 4 'high automation' where the vehicle will work autonomously but the driver can take back control. It is only at level 5 'full automation' that the driver is never required to take action as the vehicle will drive itself all of the time.
• Automated vehicles have a long list of perceived benefits—from accessibility, convenience and safety. But for all the optimism, there's an equal amount of scepticism and concern.
• In a Queensland survey of 1900 SEQ motorists:
  • 94 percent of motorists are aware of automated vehicles with 73 percent of motorists expressing some willingness to use a partially automated vehicle in the future (where motorists are in control most of the time), which dropped to 60 percent for a motorists' willingness to use a highly automated vehicle (where the vehicle is in control most of the time)
• So what will it take to convince a sceptical public that autonomous cars are ready for the road? In short: a lot more testing, which the Cooperative and Highly Automated Driving (CHAD) Pilot will go some way to do.

Why is government doing the CHAD pilot?

• IHS, an international body that tracks vehicle trends worldwide, forecast by 2025 there will be around 250,000 automated vehicles (AV) worldwide. The automotive industry—Ford, Toyota, Daimler, Volvo, BMW—have indicated that partially automated vehicles will be available in 2020, and fully or driverless vehicles will be available in the next decade.
• Governments don't make cars, but we still have a significant task to deliver the necessary policy and regulation to ensure positive outcomes and ensure the future vehicles can operate safely, securely and legally on our network. This also help build public confidence in the systems and cars.
• Smarter vehicles also need smarter infrastructure such as security, communications, and accurate location positioning—and government will play a role in investing in this digital infrastructure.
• A range of activities are being led nationally by a coordination group comprising Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities (DIRDC), National Transport Commission (NTC) and Austroads—who are accountable to deliver the national Land Transport Technology Action Plan. Jurisdictions are responsible to pilot and trial the technologies locally with our customers.

What will the CHAD pilot involve?

The cooperative and highly automated driving pilot (CHAD) involves two vehicles that are modified from a Renault ZOE (ZOE1 and ZOE2).

The scope of ZOE1:

• the vehicle will be equipped with a range of likely automated vehicle sensor technologies, that is not specific to an auto manufacturer.
• data collection will occur across approximately 1,500km of urban and rural roads in Southeast Queensland; the vehicle will be collecting data from early 2019 - the vehicle does not operate as an automated vehicle—it is driven normally.
• data will be analysed based on state of the art sensor processing algorithms expected in a highly automated vehicle and identified by engineers from QUT's Centre for Robotic Vision.
• data and algorithms will be used to explore how well automation performs compared with a human driver's response to static assets (signs/lines), and where they fail.

The scope of ZOE2:

• the vehicle will be equipped with a range of automated vehicle sensor technologies, such that it can be driven as a highly automated vehicle and will be shipped from France to Queensland in mid-2019.
• a range of tests will be performed by QUT from then until 2023:
  • how a driver responds in the event a vehicle requests handover to the driver
  • how an automated vehicle responds to other road users
  • if an automated vehicle is safer in a connected transport environment.
• the vehicle will be used by test drivers on public roads, and public drivers on test roads.
• the vehicle will be used for a range of public awareness activities across Queensland.

Why purpose-built rather than a ready-built automatic vehicle?

There are no commercial vehicles currently built to level 4 automation (highly automated). ZOE2 will be the fourth level 4 vehicle made by VEDECOM. QUT has an agreement with VEDECOM, which includes Renault.

What are the features of ZOE2?

• Can be driven as a standard vehicle, in data recording mode, in simulation mode, in highly automated (level 3 and 4 automated) modes, or as a connected and highly automated mode
• ADR-compliant (Australian Design Rules)
• Can travel up to 50km/h (a temporary limitation by Renault) when driven in automated modes
• Has a platform that supports new and cooperative and automated vehicle (or CAV) functions
• Has EU-compliant cooperative intelligent transport system (C ITS) equipment, which supports the connected automated mode
• Collects and makes available all its vehicle data
• Can be used for demonstrations / testing involving public participants
• Is supported by VEDECOM as part of an ongoing relationship with QUT.

Where will the pilot take place?

The first demonstration will be a closed event at the Mt Cotton test track early 2019.