I-Corps: Hard platooning device to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of automated transportation solutions that circumvent the typical issues of autonomy. In the proposed technology, a lead vehicle is operated by a human, and automated followers are physically tethered with the smart hard connect device. The proposed device simultaneously generates and transmits vehicle to vehicle information over a secure high-bandwidth wired connection. The transit bus and trucking industries, as well as the United States military, have the potential to benefit. Given the routine proximity to pedestrians and bicyclists, transit agencies have a unique requirement for safety and reliability. These stringent requirements prevent the widespread adoption of the traditional, untethered, fully autonomous transit vehicles. However, these requirements may be readily met by the proposed technology. In the trucking and logistics industries, massive labor shortages can be filled and the productivity of fleet operators increased, without any compromise on safety and reliability. Likewise, the United States military Leader-Follower operations, which uses traditional platooning, may be improved. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an automated vehicle following technology where the vehicles are physically connected. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to provide significant improvements in transportation safety, equity, efficiency, and environmental sustainability; however, widespread adoption has been plagued by safety and reliability questions related to unforeseen edge cases, inclement weather, and cybersecurity. In the proposed technology, a lead vehicle is operated by a human, and automated followers are physically tethered with the smart hard connect device. The proposed device simultaneously generates and transmits vehicle to vehicle information over a secure high-bandwidth wired connection. Thus, whichever path one vehicle can traverse, the entire platoon can traverse. Because the followers pull their own weight, the driver feels as if they are only operating one vehicle. The resultant knowledge advancement will not only support the proposed technology development, but also has the potential to answer fundamental questions in control theory, information theory, materials, and safety.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.