Abstract
Although fully implemented autonomous vehicles (AVs) seem to be on the cusp of reality, standard evaluation and testing procedures still are lacking. This study conducted a preliminary evaluation of the technical feasibility, safety, and reliability of using AV technology, in particular a low-speed, self-driving shuttle known as Olli. The study designed a set of 12 testing scenarios and performed experiments to evaluate the operational capabilities, safety, and reliability of the self-driving shuttle on the University at Buffalo’s Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) proving grounds. The scenarios were designed to evaluate the vehicle’s performance while simulating the operational scenarios that the shuttle would encounter when deployed in the real world at a medical and educational campus in downtown Buffalo, New York. Preliminary results provide insight into the operational characteristics of the self-driving shuttle; its stopping distance behavior; its ability to detect and safely react to obstacles, conflicts, and other hazards on the road; its car-following behavior; and the impact of inclement weather conditions on performance.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including some Olli testing data.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a joint grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under Task assignment C-17-01; by matching funds from the University at Buffalo (UB); and by partial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award 1626374. The authors thank NYSERDA, NYSDOT, FHWA, UB, and NSF for their generous support. The conclusions of this paper, however, represent the opinion of the authors, and do not constitute in any way official opinions of NYSERDA, NYSDOT, FHWA, or NSF. The authors also extend special thanks to several individuals whose cooperation and support were instrumental in accomplishing the objectives of this research. These include Athena Hutchins, Executive Director of the Niagara International Transportation Technology Coalition (NITTEC); Lisa Kenney, Smart Mobility Advisor to the Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council (GBNRTC); Bill Smith and Jamie Hamann-Burney, with the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC); Mike Brown and Eric Thornton of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI); and Chris Austin, Director of UB Parking and Transportation.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems
Volume 147 • Issue 8 • August 2021
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 7, 2020
Accepted: Feb 4, 2021
Published online: May 17, 2021
Published in print: Aug 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 17, 2021
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