Funded Projects

Weather, including atmospheric conditions and pavement conditions, can adversely influence vehicle and driver behavior and cause issues in transportation safety and mobility. Conditions such as wet and icy pavement, snow storms, and high wind, may impact both vehicle sensors and how drivers react and switch from self-driving mode to manual. Along with the development of automated vehicles, there is a pressing need to understand how vehicles and drivers will detect and react to adverse weather at different levels of automation. This study will investigate how inclement weather and pavement conditions affect driving behavior, vehicle dynamics, vehicle operations, and sensor performance (e.g. cameras and Lidar) at different levels of automation. Several experiments will be conducted for data collection on UB campuses. The project will provide inputs and suggestions on developing USDOT policy on automated vehicles operations under inclement weather. Also, this project will allow us to submit follow-up proposals aiming to increase the reliability and safety of controlling automated vehicles under different conditions.