INRIX, a connected car services and transportation analytics provider, launched a pilot service this week to aid autonomous vehicle deployment.
The platform, INRIX AV Road Rules, is meant to serve as a foundation for community authorities to communicate with operators on the road, to guarantee safety as automated vehicles deploy on public roads. It is the first platform to allow cities and road authorities the ability to assign, validate and manage traffic rules and restrictions for autonomous vehicles operating on the road, and it utilizes automated vehicle data to report infrastructure improvement needs as a bonus.
“If deployed correctly, autonomous vehicles will radically improve our transportation systems, making them safer, more efficient and higher quality,” Avery Ash, head of autonomous mobility at INRIX, said. “After talking to hundreds of cities, states and federal officials, and dozens of highly automated vehicle operators, we identified a critical data gap that INRIX is uniquely positioned to address. INRIX AV Road Rules marks an essential new tool for transportation agencies to lay a foundation for the safe operation of highly automated vehicles on public roads.”
At launch, seven cities and road authorities, as well as four highly automated vehicle operators, has signed onto the program. Communities involved include Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada; the U.K.’s Transport for West Midlands; as well as the U.K.’s Transport Scotland. Operators slated to use the platform include Jaguar Land Rover, May Mobility, nuTonomy, and operators running Renovo’s Aware platform.
“This pilot is a major step forward in Austin’s efforts to use technology to help solve our most pressing transportation issues,” Jason JonMichael, Austin Transportation assistant director for Smart Mobility, said. “We’re excited to participate in the INRIX AV Road Rules program to foster more efficient and accurate data sharing between autonomous vehicles, their data providers, and Austin Transportation.”
Cities and road authorities will be able to add local restrictions to the platform, giving operators a greater ability to comply with local guidelines.