Volvo Car Group has completed a research project using magnets in the roadway to help the car determine its position.
The research, which has been financed in strategic co-operation with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), is a potential key to the implementation of self-driving vehicles.
Reliable and highly accurate positioning is one of the crucial issues in the development of self-driving cars.
While established positioning technologies such as GPS and cameras have limitations in certain conditions, road-integrated magnets remain unaffected by physical obstacles and poor weather conditions.
“The magnets create an invisible ‘railway’ that literally paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimetre. We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising,” says Jonas Ekmark, Preventive Safety Leader at Volvo Car Group.
Volvo Cars plays a leading role in a large-scale autonomous driving pilot project in which 100 self-driving Volvo cars will use public roads in everyday driving conditions around the Swedish city of Gothenburg.
“Our aim is for the car to be able to handle the driving all by itself. Accurate, reliable positioning is a necessary prerequisite for a self-driving car,” explains Jonas Ekmark. He adds: “It is fully possible to implement autonomous vehicles without changes to the present infrastructure. However, this technology adds interesting possibilities, such as complementing road markings with magnets.”
Helps prevent run-off road accidents
In parallel with the potential in the field of autonomous driving, road-integrated magnets open up a number of other possibilities:
- Incorporating magnet-based positioning in preventive safety systems could help prevent run-off road accidents.
- Magnets could facilitate accuracy of winter road maintenance, which in turn could prevent damage to snow-covered objects, such as barriers and signs, near the road edge.
- There is also a possibility of more efficient utilisation of road space since accurate positioning could allow lanes to be narrower.
Accurate, reliable and cost-effective
Volvo Cars’ research team created a 100-metre long test track at the company’s testing facilities in Hällered outside Gothenburg, Sweden. A pattern of round ferrite magnets (40×15 mm) was located 200 mm below the road surface. The car was equipped with several magnetic field sensors.
The research programme was designed to evaluate crucial issues, such as detection range, reliability, durability, cost and the impact on road maintenance.
“Our experience so far is that ferrite magnets are an efficient, reliable and relatively cheap solution, both when it comes to the infrastructure and on-board sensor technology. The next step is to conduct tests in real-life traffic,” explains Jonas Ekmark.
The Latest on: Self-driving cars
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Self-driving cars” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Self-driving cars
- Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving linked to hundreds of crashes, dozens of deathson April 26, 2024 at 11:15 am
In total, NHTSA investigated 956 crashes, starting in January 2018 and extending all the way until August 2023. Of those crashes, some of which involved other vehicles striking th ...
- Young pedestrians, self-driving vehicles: What’s the safest scenario for crossing the road?on April 26, 2024 at 10:05 am
Crossing roads for children can be a risky calculation, especially when the vehicles are self-driven. In a new study, University of Iowa researchers determined pre-teenage children are safest when sel ...
- Self-Driving Waymo Spotted Plowing Down Wrong Side of Streeton April 26, 2024 at 7:35 am
A video making its rounds on social media shows a self-driving Waymo car bombing down the wrong side of the road in downtown San Francisco — yet another glaring incident involving the company's ...
- 1st self-driving car that 'lets you take your eyes off the road' goes on sale in the US — and it's not a Teslaon April 25, 2024 at 8:00 am
Mercedes-Benz has sold at least one of its new vehicles fitted with its Drive Pilot autonomous driving software, which lets you take your hands off the steering wheel and your eyes off the road.
- Some Mercedes Self-Driving Cars Won't Require You to Even Watch the Roadon April 24, 2024 at 12:05 pm
The cars are only available in California and Nevada and will only autonomously drive under certain circumstances.
- China Approves US Listing for Self-Driving Firm in Easing Signon April 23, 2024 at 9:50 pm
China has greenlit a US listing by autonomous driving startup Pony.ai, raising the potential for an increase in Chinese tech initial public offerings in New York after a more than two-year hiatus.
- Tesla cuts its 'full self-driving' subscription in half, also cuts one time priceon April 23, 2024 at 7:10 am
Taking full advantage of your Tesla's features just got a whole lot more affordable. Plus, you can try them out with the 30-day free trial first.
- Tesla Cuts Prices on Cars and Self-Driving Systemson April 22, 2024 at 9:28 am
The company cut the prices of the Model Y, a small SUV which is Tesla's most popular model and the top-selling electric vehicle in the U.S., and also of the Models X and S, its older and more ...
- Cops Say 14-Year-Old Set Fire to Waymo Self-Driving Car in San Franciscoon April 19, 2024 at 9:40 am
Well, someone eventually did. At some point, someone had the bright idea to throw a firework inside the car and watch it go up like a Roman candle.
- Is Your Tesla Self-Driving Car Narcing You Out?on April 17, 2024 at 7:27 am
A viral video from The Ramcharitar Law Firm claims that Tesla could be sharing camera data with the NYPD and other police departments across the country.
via Bing News