There has been a growing volume of inquiry in the past year around how autonomous technology will affect the running of cities.  Research has explored the congestion implications of autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles sharing the roads, and how best these can be optimized.

New research from Cornell University explores changes to the road infrastructure to aid the smooth operation of autonomous vehicles, with a particular focus on what the researchers refer to as ‘smart intersections’.

“If you have all these autonomous cars on the road, you’ll see that our roads and our intersections could become the limiting factor,” the researchers say. “In this paper we look at the interaction between autonomous cars and our infrastructure on the ground so we can unlock the real capacity of autonomous transportation.”

Smart intersections

The approach proposed by the researchers allows for a group of autonomous cars operating in a platoon like formation to pass through a one-way intersection without stopping.  When simulated, this approach increased the capacity of vehicles on urban streets by almost 140% when compared against traditional traffic light systems.

While the results were achieved when the roads were fully automated, the team believe it provides an example of how autonomous and human-driven cars may function effectively also.

The researchers believe their work is important in addressing the imbalance between research into the vehicle technology and that into the surrounding infrastructure.  The technology of autonomous vehicles will allow them to communicate with one another, which offers the potential for better coordination, and therefore efficiency.  It’s a capability that was at the heart of this particular study.

“Instead of having a fixed green or red light at the intersection, these cycles can be adjusted dynamically,” the researchers conclude. “And this control can be adjusted to allow for platoons of cars to pass.”