Finnish tech company Sensible 4, a pioneer in autonomous driving solutions, leads the collaborative one-year trial of self-driving vehicles in Oslo, Norway.
The automated vehicle testing is in partnership with Norway's public transport authority Ruter, local mobility leader Holo, and automotive giant Toyota Motor Europe (TME). It will be an integrated part of the public transport service in the Norwegian capital.
On December 14, the participating companies jointly unveiled the vehicles to be used for the one-year trial: a Toyota Proace van fitted with autonomous driving software developed by the Finland-based mobility pioneer Sensible 4. Leaders behind the project said that the Proace is the "right model" to support the proposed automated transportation solution - having enough space for up to six passengers with accessibility options through the wheelchair ramp included in the van.
"Our engineers have been working closely with TME in the work of retrofitting the vehicle with our autonomous driving software," shared Harri Santamala, Sensible 4 CEO, in a press release. "We are very proud of having conducted the largest retrofitting project with Toyota vehicles in Europe."
The vehicle trial will be exploring options for integrating autonomous vehicles into Ruter's public transport service, aiming to reduce the need for private car use in the Norwegian metropolitan region. This new service will be called "Line 529" and is set for a one-year trial to thoroughly test the software across a variety of weather conditions and real-life passenger and mobility situations.
"Autonomous vehicles complement the already existing public transportation network by providing new last-mile transportation services," Santamala added. He expressed gratitude for the support provided by Ruter in pursuing this futuristic solution.
"Together we can provide a smarter and more sustainable transportation form to people in their everyday life", the Sensible 4 CEO added.
We are happy to announce that together with @Ruter, @lets_holo, and @toyota_europe we are launching a one-year #selfdriving trial in the Oslo region. The vehicles that will be used are Toyota Proace equipped with our all-weather autonomous driving software https://t.co/zBhgfqzfp2
— Sensible 4 (@sensible4ltd) December 14, 2020
Self-Driving in Nordic Weathers
Nordic weather conditions, such as those in Norway, has been especially challenging for self-driving projects implemented in the Northern European territory. In a renewed effort to advance mobility solutions, Holo has turned to Sensible 4's cutting-edge software for autonomous driving applications.
As the world leader in self-driving applications as well as a fellow Northern European nation exposed to harsh Nordic weather, Finnish tech company Sensible 4 has developed solutions even under demanding weather conditions. Its all-weather self-driving capability is made possible with its in-house development processes and algorithms that optimize 3D Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensing and data processing, augmented by an intelligent sensor system. These input devices are managed by a specialized artificial intelligence model that processes data in a format easily manageable by software that controls the vehicle.
"For self-driving vehicles to become mainstream, they have to work in everyday conditions, as in rain or snow. Driving in Norway is a great opportunity for us to test our software performance. If it works here, it works everywhere." Santamala added.
Another key milestone the developers are looking to achieve is the increase in vehicle speed, which would require a faster response from the system. Prior self-driving tests were conducted with a speed limit of 18 km/hr (11.18 mi/hr). In the Norway trials, the speed limit will be increased to 30 km/hr (18.64 mi/hr), almost twice its previous speed. Sensible 4 noted that autonomous vehicles can anticipate traffic between two to three seconds in advance.
For urban environments, moving at 30 to 40 km/hr would require shorter braking times and distances. To allow this, self-driving vehicles are expected to reduce the number of overtaking to keep flow and predictability within manageable limits.
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See how Sensible 4 transformed a Toyota Proace into an Autonomous Transport Vehicle below:
