Volvo has completed a research project utilizing magnets in a roadway to help self-driving cars determine their position.
Working in conjunction with the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), the company was working to create a reliable and accurate positioning system that would overcome the limitations of GPS and camera-based technology.
“The magnets create an invisible ‘railway’ that literally paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimeter,” said Volvo preventative safety head Jonas Ekmark. “We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising.”
Engineers created a 100-meter test track at Volvo’s testing facilities outside Gothenburg, Sweden. A pattern of 40x15mm round magnets was placed 200mm below the road surface, while the test vehicle was outfitted with several magnetic-field sensors.
“Our experience so far is that ferrite magnets are an efficient, reliable and relatively cheap solution, both when it comes to the infrastructure and on-board sensor technology,” said Ekmark. “The next step is to conduct tests in real-life traffic.”
The automaker suggests road-integrated magnets may serve other roles besides full-fledged autonomous driving, including helping current preventative-safety systems avoid run-off accidents. Magnets could also help improve accuracy of snow plows, or allow lanes to be narrower for more efficient utilization of road space.
The company notes that it will still be possible to implement autonomous vehicles without requiring any changes to the present infrastructure, though the magnets are viewed as a relatively inexpensive and durable technology that opens up “interesting possibilities.”