Partially automated vehicle trials findings

The Sydney trial built on the findings of previous trials by highlighting where findings were consistent across Sydney and Melbourne, and by identifying new findings unique to the Sydney Orbital Network.

The collective findings will help vehicle manufacturers, road operators and governments prepare road infrastructure to support automated vehicles, as they become more common on our roads.

To see the trial’s findings and recommendations, download the trial report (PDF).

The following videos illustrate some of the findings discovered during the trials. Although they show scenarios that can arise in some vehicle in certain conditions, they are not necessarily common to all trial vehicles.

No road surface is flawless

Long cracks in the road surface sealed with bitumen often interfered with lane keeping.

Vehicle detects crack seal as line marking and brakes for perceived vehicle in lane.

Changes in road surface / markings

 
Changes in road surface sometimes disengaged lane keeping.

Markings on the road (such as signs painted onto the pavement) sometimes disengaged lane keeping.

Environmental impacts

Lane keeping was sometimes impacted by environmental conditions such as shadows and glare.

Lane keeping was sometimes impacted by environmental conditions such as the reflections of headlights.

Lane keeping was sometimes impacted by environmental impacts such as heavy rain.

Speed not limited to signs

 
Static signs on buses were incorrectly interpreted as though they applied to vehicles on the motorway.

Sometimes vehicles identified a change in speed limit where there was none (emerging from an underpass, at a former roadworks location), seemingly following speeds from a digital map.

Tunnel vision

Faded/dirty lines disrupted lane keeping, especially in tunnels.
 

Twists and turns on the road

Some vehicles struggled to maintain lane keeping while taking sharper curves or dips in the road.

Blinkered vision: CAVs can’t see everything

Permanent bollards separating lanes sometimes interfered with lane keeping.