Are magnetic roads the answer to autonomous car accuracy?

Autonomous vehicles may very well be the future of driving, but reliable and accurate positioning is a crucial issue that still needs some work in the development of these self-driving cars.

Recently, Volvo Car Group experimented with self-driving vehicles by installing magnets into the road to help them navigate.

 
Volvo looks to implement self-driving cars by using road magnets to direct. (Image via Volvo)

The research project was conducted on a 100-meter-long test track at the company’s testing facilities in Hällered outside Gothenburg, Sweden by using magnets in the roadways to help a car determine its position. Round ferrite magnets were placed 20 cm below the road’s surface, and a self-driving vehicle was equipped 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. The next step is to conduct tests in real-life traffic,” said Jonas Ekmark, Preventive Safety Leader at Volvo Car Group.

Passenger of an autonomous Volvo vehicle.

According to Volvo, road-integrated magnets are unaffected by physical obstacles and poor weather conditions, unlike other safety alternatives such as GPS and camera technology.

“The magnets create an invisible ‘railway’ that literally paves the way for a positioning inaccuracy of less than one decimeter. We have tested the technology at a variety of speeds and the results so far are promising,” said Ekmark.

Road magnets have other benefits, too

Road-integrated magnets don’t only stand to benefit autonomous vehicles. According to Volvo, they open up a number of other possibilities such as incorporating magnet-based positioning in preventative safety systems to prevent run-off road accidents. They could also aid in winter road maintenance and help use road space more efficiently, which in turn could allow for narrower driving lanes.

Volvo currently plays a big role in a large autonomous driving project in which 100 self-driving Volvo cars will drive on public roads in typical driving conditions around Sweden.

For more information visit Volvo Car Group.