Self-driving cars already roam the streets of cities like San Francisco and Austin, Texas. But how do they fare on the hilly terrain of Ohio鈥檚 southeast?
A team of researchers from Ohio University endeavored to find out. They just wrapped up a with DriveOhio and the state鈥檚 Department of Transportation testing autonomous vehicles on a series of routes through Athens and Vinton counties.
鈥淭hey actually did remarkably well,鈥� said Jay Wilhelm, an associate professor of mechanical engineering who led the study.
He sat in the driver鈥檚 seat as the autonomous vehicles maneuvered through traffic and around curves. Riding there was a little like driving with a teenager, Wilhelm said: they were heavy on the accelerator and just as heavy on the brake.
鈥淚 did a lot of what I call safety driving,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y hands [were] hovering above the wheel ready to take over.鈥�
The cars drove on a series of selected routes: through the campus of Ohio University, around a rural airport and down a state route through the Appalachian hills.
Sometimes, the vehicles nailed the drive.
鈥淭o me, the easiest one was the route out in Vinton County,鈥� Wilhelm said. 鈥淚t was by the airport. We had consistent cell phone connectivity, which helps us with our GPS location. There was hardly any traffic. It was all right turns. And it was usually just a very good time. I think there were several times we drove it, and we didn't need to do anything. It just worked.鈥�
But other times, the self-driving cars needed a human hand.
The top challenges
The hardest route for the self-driving cars to navigate was through uptown Athens.
鈥淲e faced challenges from the cars parked a little far from the curb,鈥� Wilhelm said. 鈥淓ven for us humans, that would cause problems.鈥�
But coupled with students scurrying across busy streets to class, the cars struggled to perform.
鈥淭he way the system works is to identify each and every one of [the pedestrians] and try and predict where they're going,鈥� Wilhelm explained. 鈥淔or us, it slowed things down. And for DriveOhio's vehicles, it actually crashed the system.鈥�
The self-driving cars also struggled with southeast Ohio鈥檚 spotty cell service.
鈥淕PS is only accurate to a couple of feet,鈥� Wilhelm said. 鈥淎nd to really do this, we need half-an-inch accuracy. So we rely on corrections to come over the cell network to get that accuracy.鈥�
But cell signal in the region鈥檚 hilly terrain isn鈥檛 consistent.
鈥淎nd so we would notice the thing start to drift a little bit, either center or out toward the guardrail, and you got to take over,鈥� Wilhelm said.
He believes that鈥檚 the biggest barrier keeping autonomous vehicles off the region鈥檚 roads, but there were other challenges too.
鈥淎bout 20% of the time when we turned it on, it just didn鈥檛 work,鈥� he said.
The future of self-driving cars in Ohio
Despite that, Wilhelm believes autonomous vehicles will eventually make their way to southeast Ohio.
鈥淚f it was up to me, it would be tomorrow,鈥� he said.
He believes the technology could dramatically reduce traffic fatalities in Ohio, and could be tremendously helpful to elderly or disabled Ohioans who can鈥檛 drive on their own.
鈥淎thens County is the poorest county in Ohio,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are a lot of health problems. There's an aging population. The medical facilities got a lot better in Athens, but there's really nothing in the surrounding counties. So a lot of people need to travel from far away to get to their medical appointments.
鈥淎nd it's a similar story with food. A lot of these surrounding counties are food deserts. If you're elderly or disabled, it's going to be really difficult for you to get to where you need to go. You need to rely on somebody to move you, whether that's a family member or friend.鈥�
Autonomous vehicles could be a key to freedom and independence, Wilhelm said, but the technology will only be useful if people are willing to try it out. So as part of this study, Wilhelm and his co-collaborators also visited retirement homes and community centers to gauge people鈥檚 perceptions of the new technology.
鈥淥verwhelmingly, at the introduction of this, most people are hesitant,鈥� Wilhelm said.
But after seeing an autonomous vehicle, many changed their opinions.
鈥淭his isn't anything exotic. This isn't anything from a science fiction movie. It鈥檚 just a normal vehicle,鈥� Wilhelm said.
Someday, it could be the norm on southeast Ohio鈥檚 streets. But for now, self-driving cars still have a ways to go.