This $2,000,000 project grant awarded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) under the Congressionally-Identified Projects program (CFDA 11.617) aims to establish a standards development center for automated driving systems (ADS) at Michigan Technological University (MTU). The key activities include:
Off-vehicle component-level testing of ADS technologies like LIDAR, cameras, and radar to evaluate their performance and deterioration in inclement winter weather.
Data collection from MTU's existing ADS-equipped vehicle fleet to gather multimodal data in real-world winter conditions.
Validation of the collected datasets through machine learning models to assess the impact of winter weather on ADS sensor performance and object detection.
Demonstration of an automated driving functionality responding to a lane obstruction in winter conditions.
Development of an ADS standards playbook to consolidate industry frameworks and guidelines.
Stakeholder engagement through an awareness event to promote the center's work and the standards playbook.
The project intends to address the lack of standardized test methods for ADS technology in inclement winter weather, with the goal of enhancing the quality, safety, and public trust in automated driving systems.