Autonomous maintenance vehicles for bike paths

Purpose and goal

Project objective was concept development of autonomous vehicles for operation and maintenance of cycle paths through cooperation between small and large companies, academia and institutes in order to ultimately reduce cyclist injuries. The feasibility study´s goal was to reach a level of knowledge enabling a full study including prototype tests at AstaZero and in extension in field. The project achieved its objectives as the areas for a full project have been identified, and social needs, both concerning injury information regarding costs and legislation have been considered.

Expected results and effects

With autonomous vehicle for operation and maintenance, cleaning and ice preventive treatment of road surfaces can occur more frequently than with current methods, preventing the buildup of ice and snow layers. Such vehicles also lead to improved work environment for employees and free resources from the health sector when the injuries decrease. The improved quality of cycle paths and in extension on pedestrian paths is expected to induce an increase in these transport modes. The project stands on solid knowledge basis for a full study and the forming of a consortium is in progress.

Planned approach and implementation

The feasibility study identified the typical scenarios autonomous deicing machines will handle regarding infrastructure, traffic situations and tasks. Three functional modules necessary for vehicle navigation were identified: Communication, object recognition and positioning. The modules include WiFi , radar , camera, LiDAR , GPS , gyro and accelerometer. LiDAR, unlike radar, can operate on snow-covered path through information about luminous reflectance. Network connection enables communication between vehicles and the control center for the exchange of information.