Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) applications encompass a diverse range of technologies including sensors, actuators, algorithms, interfaces, among others. The Human Factors Safety Laboratory has experience developing, integrating, deploying, and evaluating these technologies on a wide variety of vehicles operating in a wide variety of conditions.
Technologies
HFSL engineers have experience working with a number of different vehicle technologies. This has included sensing hardware and techniques such as cameras and computer vision, LIDAR, RADAR, INS, and GNSS/GPS. In addition to positioning technologies, projects frequently involve high accuracy mapping to create digital representations of the roadways where systems are deployed. Work has also involved developing and integrating software algorithms for vehicle control, sensor processing, sensor fusion, wayfinding, and navigation.
Combining engineering and human factors experts within the lab allows for the design of user interface displays that are easy to understand, easy to use, and are well liked. Depending on the needs of the system, this may include visual displays, audio warnings and alerts, and haptics. These interfaces are carefully developed using a user-centered design process that seeks first to understand the user’s needs and then develops a solution under the guidance of frequent user testing.
Testing and Validation
The HFSL has a number of methodologies for testing, validating, and evaluating systems. Important foundational experiments and testing will typically happen through bench testing in the lab. The HFSL utilizes lab space within the Department of Mechanical Engineering where researchers can build, set up, and perform bench testing. The team is equipped to work on and has experience with a wide variety of sensors, actuators, and software.
Systems may also undergo testing and validation on closed course test tracks which provide a venue to safely operate in a real-world, yet controlled environment. The lab works with partners such as the Minnesota Road Research Facility (MnROAD) which is a test track operated by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. It features a 2.3 mile, two-lane highway section that simulates a low volume road.
The lab has also worked with the Minnesota Highway Safety and Research Center in St. Cloud which is a 160-acre facility containing multiple configurable driving courses including paved and unpaved roads. The facility is exempt from Minnesota DUI and DWI statutes. This unique situation allows HFSL researchers to conduct studies where participants drive real vehicles under the influence of alcohol without the risk of arrest.
Maximizing validity in research findings can only be achieved through real-world operation on real-world roads. Controlled experiments may seek to validate technologies through data collection or participant feedback. Additionally, for more mature systems, projects may involve field operational tests where technologies are deployed and allowed to operate under naturalistic conditions.