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Pilot

City of Arlington Self-driving service

City of Arlington Self-driving service
Location
Arlington, United States
Date
Started
Length
7.5 km
Project details
Go to City of Arlington Self-driving service's website Show project details
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What

In October 2018, Drive.ai announced its second self-driving programme on public roads: an on-demand ride-hailing service in the City of Arlington, Texas. Today, that program is live. Drive.ai has deployed a fleet of self-driving vehicles near the Dallas Cowboys stadium, the Texas Rangers stadium, Arlington Convention Center, CenterPoint office complex, and surrounding areas as part of the city’s latest transportation technology program. The shuttles have six stops along their route and interact with mixed traffic on private estates, mixed traffic on public streets, pedestrian crossings and event traffic with pedestrians in the vicinity. The vehicles are available on-demand and have a dynamic route and are wheelchair accessible.

Why

The aim of Drive.ai as a company and with this program in Arlington — is to use self-driving technology to create truly impactful mobility solutions. The organisation has been able to scale quickly due to their advanced deep-learning based technology, their people-centric approach, and by working closely with local governments and partners to identify and solve real transit needs within their communities. This program in Arlington is Drive.ai’s second self-driving service to go live in four months, following a successful launch in Frisco, TX in July.

© Drive.ai. City of Arlington Self-driving service.

© Drive.ai. City of Arlington Self-driving service.

Budget & Financing

Drive.ai is paid by the City of Arlington to run driverless car services.

Regulatory Framework

SB2205: The State of Texas allows AV pilots in partnership with local municipalities.

Challenges

AV software is inherently difficult. Drive.ai found and overcame many challenges in the areas of rider satisfaction and feedback, HRI panel communications, and scheduling.

© Drive.ai. City of Arlington Self-driving service - Route

© Drive.ai. City of Arlington Self-driving service - Route

Results & Evaluation

No accidents have occurred so far.

Associated Research

Drive.ai is presently in discussions with research institutes interested in performing research around this technology and our deployments.

Featured News & Publications

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Lexicon

7 words explained

platooning

Also known as flocking. A collection of (automated) vehicles that travel together, actively coordinated in formation. Platoons decrease the distances between vehicles using electronic, and possibly mechanical, coupling. Platooning allows many vehicles to accelerate or brake simultaneously.

urban setting

High density environment with an efficient high capacity public transport system with good capillarity and high frequencies.

suburban setting

Medium density environment with a good public transport system with radial connections to the city center, but lower capillarity and frequencies. This setting includes suburban cities.

small cities

Small, isolated city with an own public transport system and <100K inhabitants.

rural

Low-density environment, small cities and villages with poor public transport services mainly connecting the villages.

SAE level

The SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels define the level of vehicle autonomy, or in other words, how much human intervention is still needed for an automated vehicle to operate. Currently, five SAE levels have been defined: Level 0: Automated system issues warnings and may momentarily intervene but has no sustained vehicle control. Level 1 (hands on): Driver and automatic system share vehicle control. The driver must be ready to retake full control at any time. Level 2 (hands off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly. Level 3 (eyes off): The automated system takes full control of the vehicle (accelerating, braking, and steering). The driver must monitor the driving and be prepared to intervene immediately at any time if the automated system fails to respond properly. Level 4 (mind off): As level 3, but no driver attention is ever required for safety, e.g. the driver may safely go to sleep or leave the driver's seat. Level 5 (steering wheel optional): No human intervention is required at all. An example would be a robotic taxi.

V2X

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is the passing of information from a vehicle to any entity that may affect the vehicle, and vice versa.