Drone captures map of EastLink tunnel for self-driving car trials

EastLink has used an aerial drone from Telstra to capture a Lidar map for its Mullum Mullum tunnel in Australia to help support safe trials of fully self-driving cars. Doug Spencer-Roy, EastLink’s corporate affairs and marketing manager, said that trial sites need to be mapped in high resolution to allow self-driving car prototypes to be conducted under controlled conditions to test their safe operation. Additionally, the process can also support the company’s maintenance activities, by allowing the deta
April 9, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

8735 EastLink has used an aerial drone from Telstra to capture a Lidar map for its Mullum Mullum tunnel in Australia to help support safe trials of fully self-driving cars.

Doug Spencer-Roy, EastLink’s corporate affairs and marketing manager, said that trial sites need to be mapped in high resolution to allow self-driving car prototypes to be conducted under controlled conditions to test their safe operation.

Additionally, the process can also support the company’s maintenance activities, by allowing the details of the tunnel infrastructure to be viewed in 3D when planning maintenance work, Roy added.

The self-driving cars are pre-loaded with a Lidar map of the trials area. In addition, the vehicle’s built-in Lidar scanner aims to capture a real-time Lidar view of the vehicle’s surroundings.

EastLink says the autonomous driving system compares the real-time Lidar view against the pre-loaded Lidar map to increase the accuracy of its self-positioning system. The solution also intends to identify objects that it needs to avoid such as pedestrians, cyclists, animals and other vehicles.

Andrew Wildblood, Telstra Enterprise’s executive director growth, said: “Drones are an important emerging technology that will have many applications and benefits for our business, our customers and the wider community.

“Telstra will continue to play an important role in this space, with our world class network enabling our customers to take advantage of drone technology now and into the future. Telstra has a dedicated cross-company drone team that are actively exploring the efficiency, cost reduction and safety benefits that drones can deliver our customers, like EastLink, across a number of different industry sectors.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Atlanta ponders Mobility as a Service for seamless transit
    June 29, 2018
    Drivers in Atlanta spent 70 hours in peak-time traffic jams last year. As the MaaS Market conference moves to the US’s fourth most congested city, we ask how Mobility as a Service can help. Colin Sowman winds down his window to listen. It is not by accident that ITS International’s first MaaS Market conference outside London is being hosted in Atlanta. The event is being supported by Georgia State Road & Tollway Authority and the City of Atlanta – and again not without a reason as metro Atlanta is looking
    Read More
  • PTV and Tatweer launch UAE dispatch monitoring
    July 12, 2019
    PTV has partnered with Tatweer to set up a system that it says will allow the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to manage car dispatches to respond to emergencies. Dr. Atef M Garib, CEO, Tatweer, a professional services company, says the role of the dispatcher is to direct emergency response cars to help people who have called the centre for help. “Operators play a key role in making sure cars are dispatched and reach the incident destination on time avoiding traffic congestion delays,” Garib adds. PTV sa
    Read More
  • Rapid growth makes Texas an incubator for tolling innovation
    September 8, 2014
    As the IBTTA’s annual meeting and exhibition heads for Austin, Mitchell Beer, president of Smarter Shift, considers the role of Texas in the development of tolling strategies and technology. The State of Texas has always prided itself on being ‘larger than life’. From the sprawling geography of the state itself with its wide open skies, to its entrepreneurial ‘get-it-done’ attitude, Texas exudes an impatient restlessness that pushes businesses and public agencies to deliver faster, better results. More ofte
    Read More
  • Widest bridge in the world Port Mann open in Vancouver
    April 25, 2013
    Port Mann Bridge, designed to growing regional congestion and improve the movement of people, goods and transit throughout greater Vancouver, is now open for business. The widest bridge in the world, the Port Mann Bridge located in the metro Vancouver area, in British Columbia, Canada, features an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, also called All Electronic Tolling (AET), which will ultimately cross all 10 lanes of traffic.
    Read More

Highlighted Content