This week’s video comes from Germany where Oxbotica has mastered driving on the right-hand side of public roads.
The Oxford-based autonomous vehicle (AV) software company is the first from the UK to be granted an AV permit recommendation from the independent inspection body TÜV SÜD.
The official trials started in July, 2020 on public roads near Friedrichshafen, with a fleet of vehicles navigating a complex urban environment.
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Christian Pahlke, Head of Software & System at TÜV SÜD Highly Automated Driving, said: “Oxbotica’s automated driving software has proven itself capable of passing our demanding safety assessment framework, successfully completing physical real-world tests and scenario-based simulations.”
Around two-thirds of the world’s population live in a country where cars drive on the right-hand side, a scenario that presents different situational challenges and road markings compared to countries that drive on the left.
Having completed trials in the UK, the German AV permit means Oxbotica’s software has now proved itself capable of following the rules of the road and driving on the right in real-world conditions, bringing the company closer towards the international commercial deployment of its autonomous software stack.
In a statement, Oxbotica CEO Ozgur Tohumcu said: “The landmark TÜV SÜD AV permit recommendation in Germany allows us to test in one of the world’s leading automotive markets, helping accelerate future deployments both in the region and globally.
“Our ability to understand and adapt to the rules of the road for driving both on the left and right-hand side of the road provides a fast route to market for our autonomous vehicle software.”
“By testing these vehicles’ ability to drive on both sides of the road, Oxbotica’s public trials are opening the door to international markets and making sure that UK industry is at the forefront of innovation as we build back better from the pandemic,” added Nadhim Zahawi, the UK’s minister for business and industry.
The article says “…..where cars drive on the right-hand side, a scenario that presents different situational challenges and road markings…..”
Isn’t it the same… but the other way round?
I can think of a couple of different situational challenges when driving on the right in different countries. In the US at junctions, it is possible to turn right on a red traffic light if the road is clear, unless there is a road sign to say not. In Belgium at a roundabout, if there were no lines across the approach road the traffic entering the roundabout had priority over traffic on the roundabout – not sure if this is still in force.
Localisation – as the developers have identified – is going to be a big issue. Simply mirroring an algorithm for driving on the left won’t hack, it as each country has its own quirks e.g. France’s priorité à droite rule. And for continental European driving – especially in the Schengen area where you cross borders almost without knowing the system needs to have a full set of ‘highway codes’ for all likely destination countries, to reference as required. Fortunately with GPS at least the car’s position – and therefore country – can be readily derived by the AI