“Connected” roads help guide driverless cars

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Southeast Michigan is becoming a leader in smart road technology

The region in the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan is developing “connected” roads and traffic signals that will “talk” directly to the next generation of cars.

The features are the building blocks that will eventually guide self-driving cars safely to their intended destinations without anyone steering the wheel, The Detroit News reported.

NuTonomy's driverless car, the first to launch in Boston, takes a spin around Drydock Ave. in South Boston on Jan. 4, 2017. /VCG Photo

Numerous automotive suppliers and several automakers with operations in southeast Michigan are already testing autonomous vehicles and automated technology on the state’s roadways.

Test cars on a section of Interstate 75 in Oakland County can read high-tech roadside bar codes that communicate when lanes are closed up ahead, and reflective strips on workers’ safety vests also contain information that identifies them as people instead of traffic barrels. This road is believed to be one of the first “connected” construction zones in the nation.

Macomb County and the State Transportation Department are two of the government units working with car makers and auto suppliers in testing the life-saving technology.

Michigan has established at least 100 miles of “connected” highway corridors with roadway sensors for testing in the Detroit metro area, with plans to grow to about 350 miles.

Jimmy Stevens works at Macomb County’s COMTEC (Communications Technology Center), which brings together traffic-monitoring and weather-mapping in Mount Clemens, Mich. /AP Photo

General Motors Co. is testing a safety feature in Macomb County that warns drivers when traffic signals are about to turn red.

“Smart” traffic signals and sensors in the roadway outside the GM Tech Center in Warren can exchange radio information with Cadillac test sedans equipped with vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) capability. The equipment at the intersections was installed by Macomb County.

“We’re just scratching the surface of V2I with red-light violations,” said Steve Martin, a spokesman for Cadillac.

(Source: AP)