VTT launches AV for snow and ice conditions, Finland

VTT Technical Research Centre (VTT) of Finland has launched what it claims to be the first autonomous car (AC) to have successfully driven on a real snow-covered road. It also reached speeds of up to 40 km/h during a trial on the Aurora E8 intelligent road in Muonio.
December 18, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
814 VTT Technical Research Centre (VTT) of Finland has launched what it claims to be the first autonomous car (AC) to have successfully driven on a real snow-covered road. It also reached speeds of up to 40 km/h during a trial on the Aurora E8 intelligent road in Muonio.


Called Martti and based on research from VTT’s AC Marilyn, the vehicle is equipped with cameras, antennas, sensors and three laser sensors that detect the environment ahead. By mid-January, it will also be equipped with communication modules which are designed with the intention of communicating with digital transport infrastructure.

To enhance the car’s capacity to function on slippery road surfaces, VTT will begin changing the wavelengths of the optical components, increasing the resolution of the radar, and building more intelligence into the sensors’ software.

Matti Kutila from VTT’s RobotCar Crew, said: “When in spring 2017 we, the researchers, taught the automated car Marilyn to drive, this autumn it has been teaching us on how to make Martti such that it can get along with its spouse, and follow GPS and positioning information on its route. Martti has been designed for demanding weather conditions and Marilyn shines as the queen of urban areas.

“We already have at our disposal an intelligent roadside unit, capable of feeding local information for the insatiable needs of Martti and Marilyn. This cart dubbed Marsu contains measuring devices for friction data and a communications module serving as a base station. Furthermore, next Spring one of our vehicles can also be spotted in forest environments, when Marilyn and Martti get a new friend capable of tackling all terrains,” Kutila added.

For more information on companies in this article

VTT

Related Content

  • 2getthere enters partnership to trial AVs at NTU smart campus
    April 20, 2018
    2getthere’s Silent Roadstar autonomous vehicles (AVs) will run on the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU’s) Smart Campus by 2019 as part of a partnership which also includes SMRT Services. The project intends to develop transport that will benefit the NTU community and society. Silent Roadstar uses magnetic pellets on the road for autonomous navigation and can travel in both directions. It runs at 40km per hour and can carry 24 passengers. These Group Rapid Transits (GRTs) will be tested in a few
    Read More
  • Outsourcing security weakness for Sweden’s driver and vehicle data
    October 24, 2017
    The security of driver and vehicle data hit the headlines this summer in Sweden and its authorities are still dealing with the fallout. David Crawford reports. epercussions from Sweden’s vehicle data outsourcing scandal continue to reverberate. Transportstyrelsen, the government’s transport agency, came under fire this summer for risking the personal security of over five million motorists by failing to implement full security checks on personnel in other countries to whom individual work packages could
    Read More
  • Jenoptik announces toll monitoring first at ITS World Congress
    October 12, 2016
    Jenoptik has entered a new era during this week’s ITS World Congress with the announcement of its first highway toll-monitoring contract. By mid-2018 it will supply global logistics services provider Toll Collect with up to 600 toll payment-monitoring pillars to monitor truck toll payments as part of the planned extension of compulsory tolls for trucks using Germany’s federal highways.
    Read More
  • AV drivers need help for safe handovers, says RAC
    July 19, 2019
    Drivers will need help preparing for unexpected situations where their autonomous vehicle (AV) hands back control, warns the RAC Foundation. RAC carried out a study in the UK with the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham on 49 people of varying ages using a driving simulator on a ‘commute-style’ journey for five days in a row. During the trial, the drivers demonstrated significant lateral movement (lane swerving) when control was handed back to them, even after being provided
    Read More

Highlighted Content