Sticchi Damiani: “Autonomous driving is around the corner. We cannot be caught unprepared”
04.28.2022
The effectiveness of the theoretical-practical methodology developed by ACI Ready2Go for the PAsCAL Project has been confirmed
“Often, the future scares us just because we don’t know it. And this is also what is happening with autonomous driving “. This is what was declared by the President of the Automobile Club of Italy, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, commenting on the results of the latest theoretical and practical tests, carried out at the ACI Sara Safe Driving Center in Lainate, as part of the European project PAsCAL (Public Acceptance of Connected and Autonomous vehicLes ”:“ Public acceptance of connected and autonomous vehicles ”) which aims to raise awareness and prepare European motorists for the advent of autonomous driving.
“The idea – explained the ACI President – that, soon, we will no longer be driving our car but it will be driving us, worries us. It is normal that this is the case. Autonomous driving, however, is now around the corner. We cannot pretend nothing has happened or be caught unprepared: we would run too great a risk. For this reason, ACI – which has the safety of Italian motorists particularly at heart – is an active part of the PAsCAL project and is committed, with all its experience, know-how and technologies, to accompany today’s motorists in the mobility of tomorrow “.
Training is one of the factors that can substantially affect the behavior and acceptance of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) by drivers.
It is starting from this premise that ACI Ready2Go has developed the theoretical-practical teaching methodology adopted by PAsCAL *, the European project born – as part of “Horizon 2020”, the research and innovation program of the European Union – with the aim of creating a “Guide2Autonomy” (“Guide to Autonomy”): a set of guidelines and recommendations to accelerate the user-friendly evolution of connected automated vehicles and transport systems.
The path of construction and verification of the Ready2Go teaching methodology – aimed at all categories of drivers: novices, experts and professional trainers – ended at the end of February this year with practical lessons in the ACI Sara Safe Driving Center in Lainate. , which saw the involvement of 91 total drivers of which: 79 soldiers of the Italian Army (Alpine Brigade Taurinense and NATO Command of Milan) and 12 civilians.
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The methodology, in fact, composed of modules divided between a dedicated CAV theoretical approach and a more practical one that uses the functions developed in the Home Study Simulator **, was developed on the basis of: – the experiences and observations carried out through the use of the simulator HSS driving experience, on the occasion of the tests carried out in the UK by RED Driving School and in Italy by ACI Ready2GO and the review of the research already carried out – of the teaching experiences already gained over the years by the teachers / instructors of the driving schools belonging to the ACI networks, Ready2Go (Italy ) and RED (England). THE
tests were held: – in Italy, in summer 2021, with the involvement of 230 students in the provinces of Modena, Savona and Lecco – in England, in autumn 2021, with open days for 6 weekends aimed at students and experienced drivers at Donington’s RDS National Training Center.
Both tests showed that, although a fundamental element of training, the simulator itself is not sufficient to prepare drivers for advanced levels of autonomous driving, but it is necessary that this tool be integrated with the knowledge of on-board electronic systems. and a practical part that allows the driver to experience them and put himself to the test.
Virtual simulations and driving lessons in a protected environment allowed to confirm the effectiveness of the model consisting of theoretical modules (which include taxonomy of autonomous driving levels, legal perspectives, some explanations of additional dedicated features available on the CAVs as well as key principles in driver behavior) and practical modules (which include different scenarios proposing various situations that occur in a typical urban environment as well as in a motorway environment where the recovery control process is important).
An important tool that can contribute to concretely support the delicate transition process towards a driving method, which will see more and more the involvement of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.
* PAsCAL – acronym for “Enhance driver behavior and Public Acceptance of Connected and Autonomous vehicLes” – is a European project aimed at developing a multidimensional map of acceptance by part of the public of the higher levels of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV), highlighting any critical issues in the matter, in particular investigating the new needs of “driver” considering different modes and mobility services. The goal of PAsCAL is, in fact, to create a “Guide2Autonomy” (G2A), a set of guidelines and recommendations to accelerate the user-friendly evolution of connected automated vehicles and transport systems.
** the functions developed in the HSS are an Urban and an Autostradale, to deal with two different levels of automation, in 2 autonomous driving modes, ECO or SPORT.