PennDOT, City of Harrisburg and Carnegie Mellon University Hold Automated Vehicle Demo at Capitol Complex

PennDOT, City of Harrisburg and Carnegie Mellon University Hold Automated
Vehicle Demo at Capitol Complex

9/28/2016-HARRISBURG

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the City of
Harrisburg, and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) today highlighted safety
and
technology advances by conducting an Automated Vehicle demonstration at the

Capitol in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Safety Symposium.

Several members of the General Assembly took rides in CMU's automated
Cadillac
SRX SUV on a longer than 1-mile route around the Capitol Complex. The
automated
vehicle with a CMU researcher at the wheel drove itself and negotiated the
busy
pedestrian streets and eight traffic signals around the Capitol.

"CMU's research has helped attract technology companies to Pennsylvania and

positioned Pittsburgh especially as a research center for developing a safe
and
effective automated vehicle," said PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards.
"PennDOT is committed to overseeing these developments in a way that safety
is
never compromised but encourages ongoing research to remain here."

Carnegie Mellon University has been at the forefront of automated vehicle
research and development for more than 30 years. The university has filed
more
than 140 invention disclosures for related technologies and has created 14
generations of self-driving vehicles. The institution aims to save lives,
restore independence to the disabled/elderly, and make commutes more
productive
through automated vehicles.

"Automated vehicles eventually will play an important role in elevating the

quality of life in urban areas," said James H. Garrett, dean of Carnegie
Mellon
College of Engineering. "These vehicles will communicate with each other
and
with a city's other transportation systems including mass transit vehicles,

bridges, traffic lights, parking garages, etc. This advanced connectivity
and
autonomy being researched here at Carnegie Mellon will result in safer,
more
efficient and more integrated set of transportation systems."

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse was among the officials scheduled for a
demonstration ride.

"It is exciting that Harrisburg will be in the forefront of technology by
being
one of the main testing grounds for autonomous vehicles," he said. "The
testing is being done on one of our busiest corridors, and we are
cooperating
fully to ensure the cars are as safe as possible for both riders and
pedestrians. "

Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its
112-page "Federal Automated Vehicles Policy – Accelerating the Next
Revolution
in Roadway Safety," further highlighting highway safety's future direction.


More details about the policy may be found at www.transportation.gov/AV

Richards noted that Pennsylvania's Autonomous Vehicle Policy Task Force
will
work to align the federal guidance with pending policy recommendations, and
the
guidance does not impact testing underway in Pennsylvania by CMU and Uber.
Current testing is permitted under Pennsylvania law, but the General
Assembly
will need to enact authorizing legislation to give PennDOT the power to
adopt
policies overseeing more advanced testing.

"With federal guidance falling into place for operating automated vehicles,
CMU
will continue to build on our technical strengths and leadership in
automated
vehicles," said Raj Rajkumar, professor of electrical and computer
engineering
at Carnegie Mellon who led the development of the self-driving Cadillac.
"We
look forward to working with PennDOT to advance transportation safety."

Pennsylvania's Autonomous Vehicle Policy Task Force is made up of
representatives from federal, state and local government, law enforcement,
technology companies, higher education, manufacturers, motorists and
trucking
groups, and academic research institutions. The group expects to deliver
policy
recommendations to Richards this fall.

Concurrent with the demonstration, Pennsylvania's Safety Symposium took
place
at the Crown Plaza in Harrisburg. It featured a full day of safety topic
discussions including bicycle/pedestrian safety, impaired driving,
enforcement,
and speed management. Participants also had an opportunity to give feedback
on
PennDOT's Draft Strategic Highway Safety Plan Update.

Various studies and research have pointed to automated and connected
vehicles
as having environmental and travel benefits in addition to reducing human
error
in driving. Vehicle functions such as maintaining more consistent speeds,
communicating with infrastructure or other vehicles, and allowing highway
officials to eventually to invest less in engineering solutions related to
human behavior (such as rumble strips) are examples of other potential
benefits
of expanding these technologies.

For more information on CMU, visit http://www.cmu.edu.

Visit www.PennDOT.gov/safety for more information on PennDOT's safety
programs.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rich Kirkpatrick, PennDOT 717-783-8800, Sherry Stokes,
Carnegie
Mellon College of Engineering 412-268-5976


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