ADS for Rural America: The National Advanced Driving Simulator at the University of Iowa is testing the use of a custom vehicle with advanced automated technologies on rural roadways. Rural roads are underrepresented in ADS research today and present unique challenges, including gravel roads, limited sight distances, slow-moving equipment and animals on the road, and at times extreme weather.
At the same time, the project will study ADS applications for aging, transportation-challenged rural populations aimed at improving mobility and quality of life. They are recruiting local participants to ride in the vehicle and measure their comfort levels and perceptions of the technology.
This $7 million project is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
For this project, AutonomouStuff in Morton, IL, has outfitted a custom Ford Transit shuttle bus with a suite of Velodyne Lidars, among other automated driving technologies.
