The Humvee drove on hands-free, avoiding poles and a lake as eight cameras on its roof “saw” them and computerized controls did the rest.
The Texas-based research vehicle was just one of a number of self-driving vehicles attracting attention at the third annual Florida Automated Vehicles Summit as seen in this video report.
“We have done a lot of work with FDOT and they invited us out because we know it wants to be a leader in this area and autonomous connected vehicles bring that to the state to improve people’s daily lives,” said Thorn, Southwest Research Institute’s acting manager.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University demonstrated an autonomous lawn mower, a safer way to cut grass next to airport runways, assistant professor Eric Coyle said.
“You have all these people mowing in the daytime interrupting operations, and when you cut the grass you bring in birds because they come to eat the seeds,” Coyle said. “We have an agreement with the Daytona Beach airport to let us go over there when the system is ready.”
An autonomous vehicle uses radar, GPS, computers, real-time 3D mapping and other systems to “see” the road and avoid obstacles and pedestrians, and “read” highway signs.
Google has designed its own version, while Ford is testing one at Michigan University’s College of Engineering. Tesla just pushed a new software update to its Model S electric sedan that lets it drive itself on a highway, although the company tells drivers they should keep their hands on the wheel.
Sponsored by the Florida Engineering Society and the state’s Department of Transportation, Jacksonville’s conference was designed to help better prepare Florida for allowing automated vehicles into existing traffic operations. With autonomous vehicle technology making such “incredible leaps,” it could soon save local lives and money, said Transportation Department Assistant Secretary Richard Biter.
“When you add the cost not only in human lives being affected in accidents, but include the billions spent in property damage insurance and so forth, it is a pretty staggering number,” Biter said. “... We have taken a leadership role, and we want to have the best transportation infrastructure in the country. And as we build new infrastructure, we need to start on what we need to do on designing it so we can accommodate this.”
About 400 attendees were at Tuesday sessions discussing autonomous technology. Then exhibitors showcased their technology Wednesday at the cruise center, like Kairos Autonomi’s systems to retrofit a vehicle to robotically drive.
“Florida’s a more progressive state when it comes to unmanned systems so we figured we would see what market is there,” company President Troy Takach said. “... The first place you will start to see a lot is really in the construction and industrial sites because you really need robots to operate in controlled environments, and today those are not on our highways.”
Florida Atlantic University is developing autonomous boats so the Transportation Department can take sonar readings of bridge pilings for damage.
“There is a lot of cool stuff going on here and this conference is drawing attention in the field,” school mechanical engineering department member Jared Wampler said.
Outside, Embry-Riddle professor Dave Spitzer showed off a Ford Escape with cameras, GPS antennas, radar and a whirling laser scanner on its roof. The Ford can drive itself, but is being used on a state transportation study to study how well all those sensors work in Florida in anticipation of using self-driving vehicles on state projects.
“In the real world sensors are not always perfect - there can be drop-outs or sensor anomalies. So you can place this vehicle in situations that are not perfect,” Spitzer said. “... We will record the real world, and we can also create our own negative situations. FDOT sees immediate application for some of its service vehicles, doing mundane tasks like mowing the grass in medians or checking lines.”
Other autonomous vehicles on display are already in use, like the Meridian Shuttle that uses laser sensors to scan for obstructions as it travels from parking lot to Daytona’s Museum of Science and Industry.
©2015 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
