U.S. Army Marches Toward Driverless Future

TARDEC targets vehicle autonomy with new V2V / V2X test bed in Michigan.

October 1, 2016

Lindsay Brooke

One of the mil-spec Freightliner tractors being used by TARDEC in developing its V2X convoy and platooning technologies. Note difference in cab-top and front bumper-mounted sensors compared with the close up image that follows. (All photos by Lindsay Brooke)

Four tractor-trailer rigs barreled eastbound on Interstate 69 in rural Michigan, their non-reflective olive drab and desert-tan paint and blast-resistant glass the giveaways that this was a U.S. Army exercise. Running nose-to-tail in convoy formation, each of the military Freightliners wore a forest of electronic sensors on its roof. And while the trucks each had an operator in full control behind the wheel, the quartet actually was driving toward an autonomous future.

The Army for years has been investigating autonomous mobility platforms that take human operators out of harm’s way. Toward this goal, the public-roads demonstration on I-69 this summer show-cased a growing collaboration between TARDEC, the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, and the Michigan Department of Transportation. MDoT has created a 22-mile stretch of I-69 — a limited-access, 4-lane divided highway in Lapeer and St. Clair counties — on which TARDEC has begun testing of “connected” vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communications.

TARDEC engineers are experimenting with various sensor-array combinations in their on-road testing. Shown is the cab roof of one of the Army Freightliners.

TARDEC officials say the I-69 testbed is the first step in developing new automated-driving capabilities, first in convoy and later in platooning-style operations outside of a proving-ground environment. The test data being logged in the early-phase tests helps build vehicle “awareness” of physical parameters, i.e., bridge heights, topography and lane access closure due to road construction.

Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) network underpins the V2X testbed. The vehicles “talk” to each other and send speed, location and operating-conditions data to a grid of six roadside sensors erected and configured by MDoT, according to the agency’s director, Kirk Steudle.

Michigan was selected for the project for a number of reasons. As the center of North American automotive technology and development — including TARDEC’s huge complex in Warren — the state is steadily building what Steudle and other experts say is already the most extensive network of “connected” roadways in the U.S. The grid will soon total 350 miles and include interstate highways, inter-urban freeways such as I-696, and city streets of Ann Arbor.

Before the new I-69 testbed was officially opened in late June, TARDEC and state officials met informally with local residents to explain the program and let them know that seeing “convoys” of multiple tractor-trailer rigs would not be uncommon.

Targeting off-the-shelf technology

The I-69 program aims to leverage commercial sensor technologies, said Dr. Paul Rogers, TARDEC Director.

“It really comes down to economies of scale and affordability,” he told Off-Highway Engineering during a media demonstration. “The scale and usage across the commercial industry is so large relative to the military application. It drives the cost way down. We’ve seen significant cost savings in sensors and radars already.”

Six mobile DSRC towers such as this one form the initial V2X network on the Michigan I-69 corridor. Lear Corp. is a key technology supplier.

He added that he anticipates similar cost reduction in the DSRC hardware that his teams began testing recently. Dr. Rogers said the four Army Freightliner tractors being used initially are equipped with a mix of off-the-shelf and military-spec technology. “In many cases what used to be military-specific is now commercial off-the-shelf,” he noted.

Lear Corp. is a key supplier partner to the TARDEC-MDoT project. The traditional seating-systems vendor is rapidly moving toward being a powerhouse in 5.9-GHz DSRC and other wireless communications protocols, including GPS. Last winter, Lear acquired Arada Systems, a Troy, MI-based specialist in V2V and V2X technology. The move followed Lear’s August 2015 purchase of Autonet Mobile, a provider of automotive telematics and app services. With Arada, Lear gained a strong V2X portfolio including roadside equipment (RSE) units for infrastructure and on-board setups for vehicles.

According to MDoT’s Steudle, a similar test program in Europe involving three companies recently showed the value of having government serve as program coordinator. “They [the project] had three different companies and there were a number of issues between them,” he noted. “To me that’s a perfect reason why government should be involved to help sort it out but not dictate. And that’s what we’re doing in this project.”

Next steps for the I-69 testbed will include V2V platooning, where the lead vehicle in a convoy controls the velocity and direction of those following it.