SAE EDGE™ Research Reports - Infrastructure Enablers EPR-COLL-IE

The deployment of automated vehicles (AVs)—especially driverless cars—has fallen significantly short of expectations. Some specific use cases possess momentum; however, production numbers generally appear to be more hopeful than realistic. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, automated freight applications gained greater traction. For the most part, currently deployed freight-focused AVs are limited to narrowly defined operational design domains (ODDs) and may require human intervention to exit a highway or interact with law enforcement officers and weigh stations. Remaining business cases are often built around the so-called structural AVs—or AVs that operate in relatively constrained environments. In these scenarios, a narrow use case may support an investor’s requirements; however, this is not the case for infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs). The safety, efficiency, mobility, and accessibility benefits that IOOs seek depend on wide-scale deployment across multiple ODDs, state boundaries, and even international borders. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and automated driving system (ADS) developers often maintain that no infrastructure enablers are needed to achieve full AV deployment, regardless of IOO infrastructure investments (e.g., connected traffic signals, designated stops, booking software, mobile applications, separated lanes). At the same time, when asked what infrastructure is needed to put AVs on the road, OEMs and ADS developers alike answer that a state of good repair and clean markings are sufficient. What does that mean to IOOs? Much of the US receives poor grades when it comes to state of good repair and pavement markings. Additionally, signs and traffic signals are not included in those ratings. Could some paint and regularly refreshed markings help transition us to wider AV deployment? What do IOOs need to know about what constitutes effective lane markings or what to prioritize in terms of safety and mobility? How do policy considerations affect these choices?

This collection contains the following Edge Research Reports:

• EPR2022024: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Accessibility
• EPR2022008: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers
• EPR2022017: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Trucking
• EPR2022021: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Transit
• EPR2022011: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Pavement Markings and Signs
• EPR2023013: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Connectivity
• EPR2022029: Automated Vehicles and Infrastructure Enablers: Electrification