APPENDIX A (continued) Transport engineering The design of existing road infrastructure is largely expected to be sufficient as automated vehicles are currently being designed to operate on most roads without the need for modifications. Instead, in-vehicle systems are used to `read' our current infrastructure, including lines, signs and traffic lights with a variety of sensors, including cameras, radar and LIDAR. The vehicle then determines the correct behaviour around these objects using an on-board computer to bring together and interpret the various inputs. However, in the to medium term, as the technology is still in development, clear and consistent infrastructure (e.g. lines and signs) and approaches to road operations (e.g. maintenance) are useful for enabling operations of automated vehicles on our roads. While heavy vehicle platooning is seen as a significant benefit of automation, its logic is premised on achieving two benefits: a reduction in labour costs and a reduction in fuel costs. In an automated and zero emissions vehicle future with no drivers and low fuel costs, the benefits of platooning could be largely eliminated. This calls into question whether automated heavy vehicle platooning will occur, unless we see the development of automated vehicles without zero emissions technology, or vice versa. ICT infrastructure At a minimum level, existing ICT infrastructure is largely expected to be sufficient, where minimum is defined as the least amount of ICT infrastructure required to ensure safe automated vehicle operation on critical Victorian roads while minimising over-investment or technical obsolescence risks. There are opportunities for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology to improve network performance of automated vehicles, at an estimated cost of $40m for the minimum scenario and $204m for the optimum scenario ($2018), though these would need further scoping and trials before they were implemented. Connections to mobile networks are not a base requirement for most automated vehicles to operate. However, the breadth of mobile network coverage may limit their reliability and cooperation in some areas of Victoria, especially outside of urban areas. The cost for upgrading these facilities to a minimum level of coverage is estimated at $76-109m ($2018), while optimal coverage of all sealed roads in Victoria is estimated at $1.1-1.7b ($2018). not necessary to enable the introduction of automated vehicles on Victorian roads, central operations/traffic management systems could require radical change in order to optimise the deployment and movement of automated vehicles by introducing machine learning or even artificial intelligence into traffic management. International markets
APPENDIX A (continued) Transport engineering The design of existing road infrastructure is largely expected to be sufficient as automated vehicles are currently being designed to operate on most roads without the need for modifications. Instead, in-vehicle systems are used to `read' our current infrastructure, including lines, signs and traffic lights with a variety of sensors, including cameras, radar and LIDAR. The vehicle then determines the correct behaviour around these objects using an on-board computer to bring together and interpret the various inputs. However, in the to medium term, as the technology is still in development, clear and consistent infrastructure (e.g. lines and signs) and approaches to road operations (e.g. maintenance) are useful for enabling operations of automated vehicles on our roads. While heavy vehicle platooning is seen as a significant benefit of automation, its logic is premised on achieving two benefits: a reduction in labour costs and a reduction in fuel costs. In an automated and zero emissions vehicle future with no drivers and low fuel costs, the benefits of platooning could be largely eliminated. This calls into question whether automated heavy vehicle platooning will occur, unless we see the development of automated vehicles without zero emissions technology, or vice versa. ICT infrastructure At a minimum level, existing ICT infrastructure is largely expected to be sufficient, where minimum is defined as the least amount of ICT infrastructure required to ensure safe automated vehicle operation on critical Victorian roads while minimising over-investment or technical obsolescence risks. There are opportunities for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology to improve network performance of automated vehicles, at an estimated cost of $40m for the minimum scenario and $204m for the optimum scenario ($2018), though these would need further scoping and trials before they were implemented. Connections to mobile networks are not a base requirement for most automated vehicles to operate. However, the breadth of mobile network coverage may limit their reliability and cooperation in some areas of Victoria, especially outside of urban areas. The cost for upgrading these facilities to a minimum level of coverage is estimated at $76-109m ($2018), while optimal coverage of all sealed roads in Victoria is estimated at $1.1-1.7b ($2018). not necessary to enable the introduction of automated vehicles on Victorian roads, central operations/traffic management systems could require radical change in order to optimise the deployment and movement of automated vehicles by introducing machine learning or even artificial intelligence into traffic management. International markets
Vehicles%20Infrastructure%20Advice%20-%20Evidence%20Base%20Report%20August%202018%20-%20Accessible%20Version.docx