From autonomous vehicles to artificial intelligence, technological advances are transforming the infrastructure industry. As a learning organization, Jones|Carter is working to stay informed on these developing technologies, and their impact on our industry, to better serve the communities where we live and work. To support this effort, members of our team have been attending Innovation Workshops hosted by industry experts at leading research institutions in both the academic and private sectors.
Members of our team recently attended a workshop on connected and autonomous vehicles and transportation systems. Hosted by Robert Brydia from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), the workshop included round-table discussions, break-out sessions and tours of research projects at the Texas A&M University RELLIS Campus and TTI Labs
So What Did The Team Discuss at The Workshop?
The Innovation Workshop focused on connected transportation and the progress of autonomous vehicle systems and technologies. While autonomous vehicle systems are advancing rapidly, our communities, roadway systems, and the autonomous vehicle systems still face many challenges in reaching the level of full autonomy.
Driverless vehicles have five levels of autonomy: driver assistance (everything on), partial automation (feet off), conditional automation (hands-off), high automation (eyes off) and full automation (brain off). Passenger and freight vehicles have a way to go before they are fully automated; however, closed-loop autonomous vehicles are not far off. In fact, things like campus shuttles and grocery delivery are already making use of the technology.
Our J|C team members had the opportunity to tour TTI’s Driving Simulation Laboratory and participate in an autonomous simulation, which can be programmed to demonstrate varying levels of automation. Our teammates also had the opportunity to view a demonstration of the Smart Intersection and how it’s helping further connected vehicle infrastructure research.
“This workshop was a great experience,” Colby Wright, PE, Transportation Manager, said. “I look forward to future opportunities to learn more about connected and autonomous vehicle technologies that will change our transportation systems in the future.”
Our connected and autonomous vehicle workshop provided great insight to our teammates. Be on the lookout for more insights from the team on how this research will impact our clients, our projects, and our industry as a whole. In addition to this workshop, we will be engaging in workshops on additional topics later this year. Check back regularly for more updates on our future Innovation Workshops and information about cutting-edge technologies reshaping our industry, and subscribe below to be notified about new articles.
