But officials say it will be years, if not decades, before computers take control of the daily commute.
Monday’s driving exhibition was the first time a group of cars with new connected and automated vehicle technology took test rides not on a track, but on an actual road—in this case, the closed express lanes along Interstates 95 and 395.
The Level 2 technology on display is considered the wave of the future, something that could make driving safer, more convenient and help ease congestion.
The test runs were part of a program led by the Virginia Connected Corridors and the Virginia Automated Corridors groups. Both help the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, Virginia Department of Transportation and Transurban work on the burgeoning vehicle technology, which was used in cars that took transportation and elected officials on rides Monday.
Though the ideal automated road/vehicle system is years, maybe decades, away, technology like what was on display Monday will gradually become more common, said Tom Dingus, director of Virginia Tech’s transportation institute, which produced two SUVs for the express lanes test drives. Continental also had a vehicle in the test runs, using a car fitted with five cameras and five sensors.
“Depending on who you talk to, it’ll take somewhere between three and 30 years” for a fully automated car to become commonplace on U.S. roads, Dingus said.
But some of the technology in the cars, such as cameras and sensors, already is in use in some models, and Dingus added that the Level 2 technology in the cars used Monday is slated to be included in four 2017 models.
The technology on display Monday in Northern Virginia is the next step, allowing not only for connected driving, where vehicles use wireless signals to communicate, but also automated driving, where the vehicle’s computer system handles the gas, brakes and steering.
During the test runs, the cars performed lane changes, automated braking and other maneuvers on a 10-mile stretch of the express lanes.
Sen. Mark Warner was among the officials who went for rides in the cars, and spoke of the technology and riding experience afterward.
When the car took over in automated mode, with a driver behind the wheel, Warner said, “You might have noticed a little bit of a surprise look on my face.”
Still, he would take the automated car’s skills over his own.
“I felt comfortable,” he said.
VDOT Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick also rode in the automated cars and had a similar experience to Warner’s.
“It’s pretty exciting stuff,” he said, pointing out that some of the vehicle technology he experienced could be relatively easily integrated with the existing transportation network.
Kilpatrick was impressed with the cameras on the cars that detect line painting, helping the vehicles stay in the lanes and navigate lane changes.
Dingus said advancements in engineering and artificial intelligence have to happen for the technology to become a reality.
On Monday, though, he was happy with how the cars of the future performed.
“I think they did great.”
©2015 The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
