Last month, a bizarre video showing a man disguised as a car seat while driving a silver van went viral, before it was revealed that the stunt was part of an autonomous car test.
Now, Ford has admitted that it was in on the research.
In a blog post, the firm said it was involved in the stunt that shocked the internet and Virginia residents, who saw the car on the roads and thought it didn’t have a single human inside.
The test was designed to learn how hand waves and other informal language between pedestrians and drivers – and the lack thereof when cars go driverless – affects driving.
It’s been known the viral video showing a man disguised in a car seat costume controlling a silver van was part of a self-driving car test and not just a spoof, but it’s now been revealed Ford was in on it
‘We do need someone in that seat right now, so we dressed a human up in a seat suit to make it appear as though there was nobody inside our simulated self-driving Ford Transit Connect,’ John Shutko, Ford’s Human Factors Technical Specialist for Self-Driving Vehicles, wrote in the post.
‘This seat suit allowed us to collect real-world reactions to an autonomous vehicle driving on miles of public roads in northern Virginia, without actually using an autonomous vehicle.’
When the experiment was uncovered in August, Virginia Tech Transportation Institute claimed responsibility and revealed it was an official self-driving car test and not a prank.
It turns out the institute was working with Ford for the experiment, in which a Ford Transit Connect van masqueraded as a true autonomous car without a human in the driver seat used.
In the post, Ford explains the vehicle was equipped with a light bar on the top of the windshield where a pedestrian would typically look to communicate with a driver.
In a blog post, the firm explained the test, which was to learn how hand waves and other informal language between pedestrians and drivers – and the lack thereof when cars go driverless – affects driving
The signal was set to change based on what the car (or in this case, the disguised driver) was doing.
If yielding, it would slowly pulse a white light back and forth.
For accelerating, the light would blink rapidly.
And for just regular driving, it would remain solidly lit.
The firm says it has ‘good reasons’ for why it designed the light signals this way as opposed to having scrolling text or red, yellow, and green lights like on a traffic light.
The vehicle was equipped with a light bar on the top of the windshield where a pedestrian would typically look to communicate with a driver. It would pulse slowly to indicate yielding, blink rapidly for accelerating, and remain solid for regular driving
‘First, there are thousands of languages throughout the world, and many countries have more than one official language, which makes it nearly impossible to ensure text can effectively communicate with the greatest number of people,’ Shutko said.
Additionally, human-driven vehicles already use signals like that (such as red break lights) to indicate what the car is doing, rather than what pedestrians and other cars should do.
‘It doesn’t make sense to tell pedestrians and other drivers what to do because vehicles don’t do that now,’ Shutko said.
Another reason has to do with regulation – it’s probable what color can be used ona front of a vehicle would be regulated in many parts of the world, so Ford sees white or amber as the best option for standardization.
THE TOWN WHERE ONLY ROBOTS CAN DRIVE
At first glance it seems like any other city, with five lane roads, intersections, buildings and even pedestrians waving as you pass.
However, M City, in Ann Arbor, is devoid of one thing – people.
The University of Michigan opened the $6.5m, 32 acres Mcity, the world’s first controlled environment specifically designed to test the potential of connected and automated vehicle technologies that will lead the way to mass-market driverless cars
Ford was the first major car maker test autonomous vehicles at Mcity – the full-scale simulated real-world urban environment at the University of Michigan.
The $6.5 million facility will be outfitted with 40 building facades, angled intersections, a traffic circle, a bridge, a tunnel, gravel roads, and plenty of obstructed views.
Occupying 32 acres at the University’s North Campus Research Complex, M City includes approximately five lane-miles of roads with intersections, traffic signs and signals, sidewalks, benches, simulated buildings, street lights and obstacles
Occupying 32 acres at the University’s North Campus Research Complex, it includes approximately five lane-miles of roads with intersections, traffic signs and signals, sidewalks, benches, simulated buildings, street lights, and obstacles such as construction barriers
‘At Ford, we believe developing self-driving vehicles is about more than just the technology itself, so we’re working to design, test and advocate for a standard way for autonomous vehicles to easily communicate their intention to people on the streets and roads on which they will operate,’ Shutko said.
The firm us also working with several industry organizations – including the International Organization for Standardization and SAE International – in an effort to create standardization.
Virtual reality testing showed it take a few exposures for people to understand the signals and even longer for them to become ingrained, but Ford believes it the system could become ‘an accepted visual language.’
The firm us also working with several industry organizations – including the International Organization for Standardization and SAE International – in an effort to create standardization
Regarding this, Ford has conducted 150 hours of testing over 1,800 miles in urban areas and found there could be a social benefit to a standardized language for self-driving cars.
In a separate project, the firm is also researching communication solutions for blind and impaired persons.
Buzz around the experiment began in August when a ‘driverless’ van was spotted roaming the streets of Virginia.
Residents were shocked last week to see the silver Ford Transit driving along main roads in Arlington without anyone behind the wheel.
Some had speculated that the vehicle was part of autonomous driving tests that are currently being carried out in Virginia.
The test was discovered in August when NBC reporter Adam Tuss spotted the ‘driverless’ car and went up to investigate. He filmed himself approaching the vehicle, saying: ‘Brother, who are you? What are you doing? I’m with the news, dude’
But when NBC reporter Adam Tuss spotted the driverless vehicle, he jumped at the chance to get to the bottom of the saga.
He approached the vehicle and was stunned to see that the driver had been disguised as a car seat.
The man sitting in the driver’s seat was wearing a beige and black costume that covered his body.
His hands were the only thing visible and could be seen at the bottom of the steering wheel.
Virginia Tech first claimed responsibility for the ‘driverless’ car and revealed it to be part of a study on how to best to design automated vehicles
Now Ford has come out with the full details of the experiment, including the lights and intentions to create a universal language for autonomous vehicles. In a separate project, the firm is also researching communication solutions for blind and impaired persons
The reporter filmed himself approaching the vehicle, saying: ‘Brother, who are you? What are you doing? I’m with the news, dude.’
Virginia Tech first claimed responsibility for the ‘driverless’ car, and then the Arlington County Police Department tweeted out news of the automated vehicle test.
Virginia Tech said the driver’s seating area was configured to make the driver less visible within the vehicle, while still allowing him or her to safely monitor and respond to surroundings.