The US DOT (Department of Transportation) might have stumbled upon a means and a method in which to overcome the challenge of creating and testing the multitude of representative scenarios that will be experienced by driverless vehicles when they hit the remarkable complexity of the open road. This obstacle is one of the reasons that we see a slower roll out of AVs (Autonomous Vehicles) than the original hype led us to envision.
The expense of procuring the vehicles and taking the time to test the technology to see how it works in today’s interconnected transportation environment is frankly too tall an order for the Autonomous Vehicle industry to tackle and complete in our lifetimes. It is too much for each independent developer of the technologies, vehicles and systems to undertake on their own.
US DOT released the Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan on Jan 11, 2021. Within the Comprehensive Plan a small snippet highlights an impressive project with significant potential. This allows vehicles and systems across the transportation ecosystem to interoperate with each other while synchronized to common scenarios over a secure network. It also allows for the protection of intellectual property while experimenting and testing earlier in the development cycle. This project is called VOICES (Virtual Open Innovation Collaborative Environment for Safety). The project offers the prospect of assuring the safety and interoperability of AVs, with the potential to enable better cybersecurity (e.g., EV charging infrastructure and connected vehicle cybersecurity, IoT and transportation system cybersecurity) and grow the future transportation workforce.
Did the current US DOT constrain the potential of this project? Is this an opportunity for the future Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to Build Back Better? Is this an opportunity to provide voices to the transportation system and expand the project to ensure the safety of AVs while enhancing the Cybersecurity of the intelligent and connected transportation ecosystem?
Like other industries that have a cyber component to it, as well as safety concerns, the automotive industry can benefit from the VOICES approach which will allow for testing in a representatively complex and connected multi-system environment without having to leave the sanctity or privacy of your development lab. It will also allow for collaboration between different manufacturers in a way that protects intellectual property. As an added benefit, VOICES amplifies the nation’s investment in STEM by providing an efficient avenue for universities and other educational institutions to prepare students for tomorrow’s high-paying technology jobs. The jobs needed for VOICES success ensures that the future workforce will be positively impacted by emerging technologies and have the potential for so many more people to be gainfully employed.
The VOICES Proof of Concept (POC) project is an example of how public, private and academic institutions can work together to address development challenges in a collaborative manner. The virtual environment will allow the industry to address some of the pressing issues that are otherwise inhibiting the progress of Autonomous Vehicles.
It is certain that self-driving vehicle manufacturers will not be able to test the millions and millions of different scenarios that could occur on our roadways at any given time in America; nor will they be able to accumulate the billions of miles to prove their safety without employing the combination of simulation, track testing and testing on public roads. In fact, it is a fallacy to think that each individual manufacturer could create all the exact scenarios that will be experienced by a driverless vehicle and assure that their vehicle can safely interact and communicate with every other entity it encounters. The attempt to do this only results in further delays and failures. It is time for government and industry to work together to create the development and test environment that allows innovation to flourish.
The VOICES approach seems to point in a positive direction in which it can aid industry and investment in STEM education and high-paying technology jobs to ensure that the future workforce has the vision and opportunity to shape the industry in this country. It combats suggested concerns of negative impacts to the workforce by opponents of autonomous vehicles. These are high-tech positions and STEM corridor careers, areas in which the US lags other industrialized countries. This should be viewed as phenomenal news. Instead of the absurd pandering to hold on to low-skill delivery jobs that cannot possibly feed a family. VOICES, coupled with the autonomous vehicles industry, will necessitate new jobs and careers in medium and high-skilled areas. This will provide good pay and lead to a sustainable way of life for so many Americans.
There is no time to stop and applaud this recent step by the Department of Transportation since US is already lagging behind the rest of the world in its approach to autonomous vehicles. With current limits on the number of vehicles that can test on our roadways and a lackluster approach to a national regulatory scheme, these programs can only take us so far. Most importantly, those in the industry and adjacent stakeholder communities fall short of the work that needs to be done for public acceptance. We can and should succeed in rolling out autonomous vehicles and improving the transportation network system across America. This is not the time to take a victory lap, but one to check the scoreboard and keep running at full speed. The political economy of autonomous vehicles depends on it.
