Stellantis: More safety on the construction site
FUTURE If the tangle of lines, markings, at road works already causes confusion for human drivers, it seems (still) an almost unsolvable task for the electronic brain of an automated DS7 Crossback.
L3Pilot is the name of the European lighthouse project testing the suitability of SAE Level 3 automated driving functions on public roads. Here, the driver no longer has to constantly monitor the driving situation, but must be able to take control when the system demands it.
The Stellantis research team led the driving trials and focused on testing and evaluating the technology as a safe and efficient mobility solution under real traffic conditions.
Research institutes and transport authorities
The project lasted four years and involved a network of 34 partners, including not only the Stellantis Group but also other automakers such as VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault and Volvo, as well as suppliers, research institutes and road traffic authorities.
A total of 70 vehicles equipped with autonomous driving functions in seven countries were involved. In the process, 400,000 highway kilometers were covered, half of them in autonomous mode and the other half as a reference. In urban areas, data was collected on 24,000 kilometers, 22,200 of them in autonomous mode and again 1800 as a reference.
Parking and overtaking on freeways
The project covered a wide range of driving situations such as parking, overtaking on highways, driving through urban intersections and situations in local traffic. Various third-stage automated driving functions were tested.
Like the "Autobahn-Chauffeur", for example, which is about driving at high speeds and automated lane changes. Conversely, the "traffic jam chauffeur" was about driving slowly when traffic was at a standstill.
Remote parking tested all situations with parallel or angled parking, with the system "remembering" repeated maneuvers to enter and exit parking spaces when in the "home zone."
Different scenarios and driving situations
A fleet of 16 Stellantis prototypes was also on the road in various scenarios and driving situations, under variable conditions in several European countries. The aim was to collect data, identify situations and evaluate all aspects of the driving tests.
Vincent Abadie, Stellantis autonomous driving project manager, says, "There are just so many different types of road works with all different kinds of markings, lane alignments, limitations that the system doesn't recognize, That's what these test drives are for. All the data flows into the project and into the final evaluation."
