Evaluation Tools for Low-Speed Automated Vehicle (LSAV) Transit Readiness of the Area (05-113)

Project Description: Automated shuttles are small, low-speed (generally less than 25 mph) vehicles that "do not require a human operator. Although early demonstrations all have included an onboard human attendant to observe passengers, record data, answer questions, and serve as a safety operator if needed" (Valdes et al., 2018). This project aims to assess the limitations that the EasyMile EZ10 Gen 3 low-speed automated vehicle (LSAV) encountered while operating on public roadways. The primary interests are to evaluate the infrastructure elements that posed the most challenges for the LSAV during its deployment. The primary research questions are as follows: Based on the results from the safety analysis, what are the infrastructure elements and traffic conditions that have negative effects on LSAV performance? What limitations should be considered while planning for a potential LSAV or automated transit vehicle deployment? How can transit planners adjust and improve the deployment program as it unfolds? Data Scope: A total of 41 safety-critical events were identified based on the reduction of the triggered events. There were five cameras installed onboard the LSAV shuttle, each of which collected continuous video when the LSAV was in operation. These five cameras recorded (1) the forward view, (2) inside the shuttle, (3) toward the left side of the shuttle, (4) the rearward view, and (5) toward the right side of the shuttle. The external cameras provided 360-degree coverage around the LSAV, allowing the research team adequate visibility of conditions around the vehicle during the disengagement events. These camera views were selected to capture traffic interactions with a wide variety of road users, including pedestrians and pedal-cyclists, as well as the impact of the disengagements on any passengers onboard at the time of the event. This data contains all categorical variables. Data Specification: Please see Data Specification document attached below.