On October 2, the Minister of Transport and Intelligence Israel Katz took part in the opening of the first pilot testing center in Israel for autonomous transport and innovative technologies of the new generation.
We are talking about a segment of the road specially designated for this purpose on the Ayalon Highway (Highway No. 20) between Rishpon and Shfaim. The site was created by Netivay Ayalon as part of the construction of Highway No. 511, connecting the Coastal Highway (No. 2) and the Ayalon Highway (Highway No. 20). This "sterile" segment of the road length of about 1.5 kilometers and a width of 17 meters, imitating a high-speed highway with three lanes.
Here dozens of leading companies will test innovative technologies in the field of unmanned vehicles.
"The future is here. Israel is becoming the world center of "smart" and autonomous transport. We are one of the leading countries in the field of such technologies. This and other experimental centers, which will be created in the future, are designed to facilitate research and development in the field of unmanned transport, "said Israel Katz.
The Israeli experimental center includes a number of road sections with different characteristics. This unique solution allows companies engaged in developments in the field of autonomous transport to conduct the necessary tests under optimal conditions. This will also speed up the receipt of the required results.
Minister Katz noted that the Ministry of Transport invests a lot of money in the creation of modern infrastructures, striving to strengthen the fight against road accidents and improve the level of safety on the roads of the country. "The transport department promotes and supports the latest technologies in order to reduce the role of the human factor in the occurrence of accidents," Katz said.
In the near future several more places will be available for testing. For example, intercepting high-speed road parking at the entrance to Tel Aviv and the tunnels built north of Ein Tut on the Trans-Israel Highway (No. 6). Yisrael Katz said that the possibility of creating additional experimental centers in the territory of some settlements is being tested.
Today, well-known companies have started testing at the experimental site: ARGUS, NEXAR, MOBILEYE, GENERAL MOTORS, VALERANN and INNOVIZ.
NEXAR has developed an application for a mobile device aimed at preventing accidents. The software complex joins the smartphone and car video cameras, creating a two-level system to prevent accidents. The system notifies about the danger of collision with the object of traffic.
The company INNOVIZ demonstrated a stand-alone car scanning the external environment with the help of development based on a special lidar sensor. It represents a three-dimensional image of the environment of the car in real time. The level of accuracy of this development is much higher than what exists today.
ARGUS company presented the possibilities of protecting private vehicles from cyber attacks with the help of advanced technologies, demonstrating the process of driving during the attack of hackers. For the experiment, a cyber attack was simulated on the control panel of autonomous transport and the process of neutralizing it during the trip was presented.
MOBILEYE and INTEL presented a development that decodes information that is in the field of view of the car on the road and displays route maps for the trip of autonomous transport.
GENERAL MOTORS Company presented its new electric vehicle with sensors and a special program that allows using the newest functions of high-precision automation.
The company VALERANN introduced a "smart" sensor system that provides information on the state of the road and the movement of vehicles in real time. The system notifies about the danger on the road, helping to move more efficiently, taking into account the traffic situation, and gives directions to autonomous transport about how to perform traffic in difficult road conditions.
The Ministry of Transport invited Israeli and foreign development companies to participate in a series of tests on experimental sites. "The knowledge accumulated in the pilot centers will be used by the vintrans when planning projects and in various pilot programs. This will help, in particular, in solving the problem of congestion on the roads, "said Israel Katz.
