Episode 48: Developing Automated Buses

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Would you hop on an automated bus for your morning commute? Sensors, software and cameras would safely guide you to your destination, saving time and helping you avoid unpredictable traffic. We’re moving toward this transportation option as SwRI develops technology and systems for connected automated buses. Our engineers are currently working on automated solutions that could ease congestion in busy bus lanes. And we are already seeing the technology deployed on the SwRI San Antonio campus with a new 14-passenger shuttle. Once programmed, the shuttle can accelerate, brake and navigate on its own. This is just the beginning of harnessing the possibilities of automation. Listen now as SwRI engineer Jerry Towler discusses innovative, inspiring automated technology for buses and other applications.

Transcript

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0:00.0	An automated 14 passenger shuttle is using algorithms, sensors, cameras, and software to drive itself around the SWRI campus.
0:10.1	And this is just the beginning.
0:11.8	Soon, passengers in big cities could be commuting on automated buses.
0:16.1	We're hitting the road destination autonomous driving next on this episode of Technology Today.
0:26.4	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day.
0:32.9	Now let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast presented by Southwest Research Institute. Transcripts and photos for this episode and all episodes are available at podcast.s.wri.org.
0:49.3	Hello and welcome to Technology Today. I'm Lisa Benia. Today we're talking about automated vehicles, specifically a new shuttle on our San Antonio, Texas campus. We'll also discuss SWRI automated technology that could offer some relief for New York City commuters. We explored autonomous driving on episode five back in 2019, but over the past three and a half years,
1:12.9	there have been some new developments in autonomous technology. Our guest today, Jerry Towler,
1:18.6	engineer and assistant director of robotics in our intelligence systems division, is sharing
1:23.7	automated driving updates and telling us more about that self-driving shuttle. Thanks for being
1:28.6	here, Jerry. Yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity to come give some updates on what we've been
1:34.7	doing for the last couple of years. Well, we're excited to hear all about it. And so let's start with
1:39.1	our new SWRI 14 passenger shuttle. It is a Ford Transit outfitted for autonomous driving. And fun for me,
1:47.8	I got to take a ride. So it is hands off driving. You just kind of see the wheel moving by itself.
1:54.9	It accelerates and breaks on its own. A really cool firsthand experience for me. So thanks for
2:00.4	setting that up. But what is the
2:02.4	overall purpose of having a shuttle like this on our campus? How is it being used? Well, I think
2:08.2	there are really two uses for this shuttle. The first one is that our team has done a really great
2:14.1	job of integrating a lot of our state-of-the-art capabilities onto this one vehicle.
2:20.2	So that's everything from motion execution through perception and machine learning, artificial
2:26.0	intelligence, and connected vehicle technology, all onto the same platform so that we can not only
2:32.1	test each of them individually, but also all of them together.
	...

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