Colas and US partners launch autonomous road safety vehicle

What the developers claim is the world’s first “Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle” (AIPV) has been used live onsite in the US state of Colorado. The introduction of autonomous technology to an impact protection vehicle removes the driver from a potentially dangerous situation should the impact be sufficient to cause injuries or death. The vehicle is a joint US-UK project. It was developed in the US by Micro Systems Incorporated – a division of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions – and Royal Truck and
November 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The business end of the driverless vehicle
What the developers claim is the world’s first “Autonomous Impact Protection Vehicle” (AIPV) has been used live onsite in the US state of Colorado

The introduction of autonomous technology to an impact protection vehicle removes the driver from a potentially dangerous situation should the impact be sufficient to cause injuries or death. The vehicle is a joint US-UK project. It was developed in the US by Micro Systems Incorporated – a division of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions – and 2669 Royal Truck and Equipment in conjunction with the 5406 Colorado Department of Transportation. The autonomous vehicle uses drone technology developed for the US military.

The group approached 184 Colas in the UK to carry out testing of the vehicle on closed roads. Operating data obtained by Colas was added to that of Colorado DoT and in August the first live road demonstration took place in Fort Collins. The vehicle followed a line painting truck.

 The autonomous vehicle is fitted with Micro System’s electro-mechanical Multi-Platform Appliqué Kit (M-Pak), a fully integrated sensor suite. It includes a roof-mounted navigation module, a quick-install steering actuator, actuators for acceleration and braking, transmission controller and an active safety system. M-PAK is a scalable system so it can be used as a stand-alone vehicle mobility kit, or sensors can be added to offer various levels of autonomy.

The lead vehicle – in this case a line-painting truck - with its driver has a roof-mounted NAV that contains a GPS receiver, system computer, digital compass and a transceiver. It transmits GPS position data called eCrumbs back to the follower vehicle, which then uses the data to track along the exact path and speed of the lead vehicle at each point along the route. The NAV Module can be easily unstrapped and removed from one vehicle and installed on another if a different lead vehicle is required.

Royal Truck and Equipment, founded in 1982, is a large manufacturer of truck-mounted attenuators and other safety vehicles based in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.

Micro Systems, wholly owned by Kratos, is based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. MSI develops unmanned vehicle technology, command-and-control systems and other vehicle management systems for all types of military use.

Road Markings, Barriers & Workzone Protection

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • All change – the evolution of data
    January 24, 2018
    Embracing change; handling data as an evolutionary process, Mike Woof writes. Bentley Systems believes that it is on the cusp of a revolutionary step in computing that will boost the working efficiency of companies right across industry. Bhupinder Singh, chief products officer at Bentley Systems explained that its key advance will allow firms to utilise what they already have, but more efficiently. He said, “Companies are effectively analysing just 1% of their data. The rest is ‘dark data’ that is stored
    Read More
  • Take control in asphalt plants
    September 24, 2018
    Control systems play a crucial role in effective and efficient asphalt production. Production manager Richard Stott works for Aggregate Industries and focuses on ensuring that output is maximised. At the same time, Stott also follows the company policy on utilising the most sustainable technology and processes available Delivering on both fronts is no small task, but the firm has achieved that at its facility in Sheffield in the UK. RAP utilisation is high and meets the company’s sustainability goals. Pr
    Read More
  • Siemens system helps enforce weight limit on New Bridge, Oxfordshire
    May 18, 2018
    Siemens UK is supplying 21st century technology to help protect a 13th century stone arch bridge over the River Thames in England. The 665m-long New Bridge has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration, but is suffering from the weight of modern vehicles. Siemens’ system is the first time that automatic number plate recognition cameras are being used to enforce a road weight restriction in the county of Oxfordshire. “Evidence downloaded from the cameras can be used to demonstrate that d
    Read More
  • EarthSense Systems releases air pollution map of the UK
    June 15, 2018
    EarthSense Systems has published MappAir, a high-resolution map of air pollution throughout the entire UK. MappAir shows how air pollution - specifically nitrogen dioxide - changes across the country and within towns and cities, highlighting likely sources and potential clean-air refuge areas. It combines data from satellites and its EarthSense Systems’ own air quality monitoring sensors along with open source data. The result, using complex modelling, creates a highly accurate map at 100m resolution, says
    Read More

Highlighted Content