Academic: Smart Road Infrastructure for the Future

Home / Features / Creating a smart road infrastructure for the future

Creating a smart road infrastructure for the future

April 1, 2017

More than 64 million kilometres of roadway covers the globe, connecting people and allowing goods to be transported. The road markings, signs and traffic management systems that help us navigate these roads are such a familiar sight that we take their presence for granted. But without them, we would be lost.
The Point of Inflection
Roadways across the globe are set to be revolutionised with the reality of autonomous, or driverless, cars getting ever closer. The race to make a successful and safe autonomous car is on, with everyone from young tech companies to traditional auto manufacturers entering the competition.
Some experts believe that, by 2025, 10 per cent of vehicles on the road will be level two automated, with 20 per cent of vehicles operating at level 4 by 2035.
As well as reducing stress for drivers, increasing productivity and improving traffic flow, autonomous cars are expected to reduce road traffic accidents by more than 80 per cent. Whilst the artificial intelligence and sensors built into vehicles will power this new technology, their ability to communicate with each other and with smart road infrastructure is vital.
At 3M we believe that road infrastructure needs to move from analogue road markings and signage designed for human eyes, to digital infrastructure designed for machine vision, radar and lasers of automated cars to interpret the surrounding environment and quickly respond.
Applying 3M science and over 75 years of traffic safety experience, 3M is creating a new business for Intelligent Transport Materials and Systems (ITMS) to develop these materials and smart road infrastructure solutions for the future.
3M Innovation Leader, Dr Ben Watson, said: “Our new business is exploring how we can combine 3M expertise in areas such as microreplication, computer-vision and machine learning, to develop not only human readable, but intelligent infrastructure, road markings and signage.
“We believe these new technologies will improve safety and security for road users and the transportation network, even in the worst weather and light conditions.
There are questions and challenges being raised by government, academia and others, focussing on safety through the connected vehicle.
“We know we can solve the problem another way— through infrastructure, as part of the wider ecosystem solution”.
The 3M team is collaborating with vehicle manufacturers, technology innovators, university research centres and government agencies, to develop  smart road infrastructure solutions such as removable magnetic lane markings that work with automated vehicle sensors; retroreflective signs that provide better readability for both drivers and automated vehicles; and vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communication systems.
The Ecosystem Solution
One example of this can be seen through our partnership with the University of Michigan’s Mobility Transportation Centre (MTC) – a 32-acre artificial town that tests autonomous cars in real-life traffic situations.
3M is responsible for the road signs and lines that guide the cars around the facility. These signs are the optimum size to be seen with the human eye when travelling at speed and incorporate a special mesh that helps the sensors of an autonomous car to read them in poor weather and light conditions.
No single system will guarantee safety, however. Safety will only increase if all vehicle systems work together, to deliver on the safety promise, societal impacts and efficiencies, anticipated through the introduction of these autonomous vehicles.

These systems will need to work reliably in poor weather conditions, intermittent wireless connectivity during a range of dynamic driving conditions.
That means signs, markings, and lines need to provide digital information as guaranteed back-up systems. Smart signs and pavement markings need to communicate with cars equipped to recognize these new Intelligent Transport Materials, improving roadway safety for everyone.
Tammy Meehan-Global Portfolio Manager for ITM, highlights the need for increased redundancies—“These vehicles will need state-of-the art road signs, and enhanced road markings—that help drivers, cameras, and sensors more easily sense and decode rules of the road. Redundancy increases safety, security and peace of mind”

What can we expect to see next?

1. Advanced road markings: Durable, removable magnetic pavement lane markings work with automated vehicle sensors to detect lines outside the vision-based spectrum, improving lane detection and traffic safety in even the most extreme weather conditions.
2. Smart signs: Retroreflective signs provide better readability, which results in more accurate navigation and faster decision-making for both drivers and automated vehicle systems. In addition, smart signs are compatible with traditional signage.
3. Wireless communication: 3M™ DSRC Multi-Channel Test Tool is an independent multi-channel listening device that provides vehicle-to-vehicle (v-v) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (v-i) communications. The test tool is an unbiased 3rd party resource, used to decode standards and connected vehicle requirements; SAE J2735, IEEEE 802.11p and IEEE1609.

Concluded Ben: “Automation needs to be developed with the full weight of safety and security in mind through this ecosystem approach.
These future challenges are both an opportunity and a responsibility for the industry and government, to build human and digital support systems for road users and now, autonomous machines.

At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $30 billion in sales, our 90,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.
The UK and Ireland is home to one of the largest 3M subsidiaries outside the USA, employing 2,900 people across 20 locations, including eight manufacturing sites.
Products manufactured in the UK include coated abrasives, personal safety equipment, adhesive tapes, industrial microbiology products, drug delivery systems and high-performance coatings.
Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.co.uk or follow @3M_UK on Twitter.

Dr Ben Watson,
3M