Cohda Wireless has partnered with the University of Melbourne, Cisco, TAC, VicRoads and WSP for the completion of a phase of trials as part of AIMES;the Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem. The trials leverage the infrastructure for connected and automated vehicles, and for edge computing. AIMES was founded in 2016 by Professor Majid Sarvi, lead transport engineer at the University of Melbourne.

The trial aimed to enable faster cooperative and automated vehicle (CAV) response times to impending events and effectively assess threats to vulnerable road users (VRUs) as well as CAVs.

It was demonstrated that, by investing in smarter connected infrastructure (such as devices based at intersections), we can realise the safety benefits of Connected and Automated Vehicles sooner, rather than wait for vehicles to be rolled out en masse.

From a broader perspective, the trial confirmed the benefits of the AIMES test bed as an effective test environment enabling rapid, highly collaborative trial deployment.

In these tests, we successfully trialled four distinct use cases to investigate a range of interactions between vehicles and VRUs in a real-world urban environment:

• Use Case 1: Driver is warned of change in road condition (e.g. ice warning) and adjusts speed accordingly
• Use Case 2: Driver is warned of reduced speed limit (e.g. road works ahead) and slows down
• Use Case 3: Intersection Collision Warning. Warning to both drivers that they are on a collision course due to one vehicle imminently running a red light. Vehicles slow down
• Use Case 4: Detection of Vulnerable Road User (VRU) on collision course with left turning driver at intersection. Driver is warned that a VRU is crossing the road and slows down to ensure they are given adequate crossing time.

“Connected autonomous vehicles will become an everyday reality on our roads when we have solved the issue of connecting vehicles with both infrastructure and people in a comprehensive manner that offers the best guarantee of safety for all parties” notes Paul Gray, CEO Cohda Wireless. “In the AIMES test bed, Cohda’s technology, in conjunction with Cisco and others, is enabling vehicles and pedestrians to communicate with each other to make road-use safer in a variety of real-life scenarios. Interoperability is the key to technology being able to deliver better outcomes as far as road safety is concerned. The various systems involved must be compatible and this is the benefit that Cohda’s technology brings to an initiative such as AIMES and others we are involved with all over the world.”

Refer to the following link for further information on AIMES