Page 16 - Newcom

MANITOBA
The friendly highways
Groups look at autonomous friendly corridors for self-driving vehicles
By Derek Clouthier
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA
Advancements in autonomous truck technology continues to drive forward, and with that has come a call for autonomous friendly corridors (AFC) in North America.
One proposed project comes from the Central North American Trade Corridor Association (CNATCA), which has partnered with the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE) to explore the reality of an AFC that would stretch from Mexico, through the central U.S. and into Manitoba.
The vision of the AFC –Hwy 83 – is that carriers would be able to program an autonomous truck in Texas or Mexico to deliver goods to Minot, S.D., or even as far
as Manitoba.
Land ports would be set up along the corridor approximately 200 miles apart for refueling, cargo dis- bursement, and vehicle services.
Paul Godsmark, transportation specialist and chief technology officer for CAVCOE, said there are also discussions around an AFC along the Trans-Canada Highway, as well as between Calgary and Edmonton.
For Godsmark, an AFC is not necessary for autonomous vehicles
to become a reality, but said it would certainly help facilitate a smoother deployment path for acceptance of the emerg- ing technology.
“It is possible that those jurisdictions that promote concepts like
an AFC will attract busi- nesses and investment as they reap the benefits of lower overall transpor- tation costs sooner,” said Godsmark, “which is then reflected in lower prices of goods at retail points.”
But how far into the future are we talking
A rendering of what the proposed autonomous friendly corridor would look like.
when it comes to autonomous vehicle use?
That, according to Godsmark, depends on one important factor – how fast automated driving systems (ADS) advance.
“Once an ADS has been devel- oped that is safe for commercial deployment on a public road, then that ADS can be adapted and cal- ibrated for other vehicle types,” said Godsmark. “So although trac- tor-trailer trucks are more complex to make self-driving than a car, once you have solved the critical issue of safe decision making whilst driving, then the unique character- istics of vehicle size, braking dis- tances, swept path, and reversing with a trailer, are then a matter of calibrating for each vehicle.”
Godsmark said one company making progress on the advance- ment of ADS is Waymo, which has announced it has partnered with Google’s logistics team to test its technology in Atlanta, Ga. The company also did road tests over the past year with self-driving trucks in California and Arizona.
Another factor that Godsmark said could speed up deployment of autonomous trucks is to focus first on highway trips as opposed to urban delivery.
“It is therefore possible that
we will see commercial auton- omous tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads in 2019-2021 that are limited to specific highway routes,” Godsmark declared.
Roy Ludwig is the Canadian director for CNATCA, and the current mayor of Estevan, Sask., and would like to see Canada and the U.S. become more harmonized when it comes to autonomous vehicles.
“We have different rules and regulations in Canada compared to the U.S.,” said Ludwig, adding that there is testing of autonomous vehicles in the U.S. but is unaware
16 TruckWest•August2018