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Bruce Newton14 Nov 2014
NEWS

When two worlds collide

Autonomous shuttle meets driven bus and we're left without a ride

The potential issues we will face when driven and autonomous vehicles mix on our roadways was literally rammed home – appropriately enough – at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum future mobility forum in Chengdu China yesterday.

It was only seconds after 10 of us had climbed aboard the new Ligier EZ-10 autonomous electric shuttle and commenced a leisurely six km/h 'road test' that a full-sized bus reversed into us.

"You're going to see what happens in emergency stop. Wait, no, no, no" said our suddenly agitated Ligier host.

Then BANG!

Thankfully there were no injuries and the EZ-10 stood up well to the low speed impact, a damaged windscreen appearing to be its main injury. However, it was whisked away for repairs, leaving the Chinese driver of the bus to complain loudly to the gathering throng.

Presumably he was trying to blame the driver of the other vehicle ... only there wasn't one.

And the EZ-10 had done exactly the right thing when its laser sensor 'virtual bumper' had detected an issue: it had stopped. Only the imperfect operator of the bus hadn't been as on-the ball.

And that's the basic tension that will arise beyond 2020 when autonomous and driven cars share our highways. It's a subject we touched on earlier this week in an earlier report from the Challenge.

Not that the EZ-10 is seen as suitable for the open highway, even if an automotive future without a steering wheel is already being mooted by such ventures as the Google Car.

Instead, it is intended for such duties as pedestrian city centres, gentle mobility areas, pedestrian tunnels, linking airport terminals with car-parks and commuting around industrial sites.

Reflecting that, the first 12 EZ-10s in-service have been split between Michelin's massive Clermont Ferrand technical centre and a university in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Using the language of the Challenge Bibendum EZ-10 facilitates 'door to door' mobility, whereas public transport has traditionally operated in terms of 'station to station'.

Launched at the Paris motor show after a seven year development program, customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2015 in North America, Europe and Asia. At this stage there has been no investigation of potential interest in Australia.

The really clever thing about the EZ-10 is it uses on-board cameras and LIDAR (Laser Detection And Ranging) to memorise the route as it is driven over it. Then its combination of GPS tracking system, visual guidance, collision detection and SLAM (Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping) technology allows it to faithfully follow the route.

So no metal strips in the road, tracks, guiding poles or dedicated traffic lanes are required.

"It is the first shuttle fully autonomous to ride on the streets," explained Ligier Group president Francois Ligier. "We have not seen them so far, there is no competitor at this stage.

"It takes only a few minutes of approximation for the vehicle to learn the road and then it can drive by itself without infrastructure."

Ligier is the grandson of Guy Ligier, the Frenchman who headed the eponymous Formula One team of the 1970s through to the 1990s.

Guy's long retired and Ligier's substantial engineering and vehicle development abilities are focussed on small and alternative energy vehicles. The current cornerstones of the company's profitability are the JS50 and JSRC mini-cars.

In contrast to its complex computing skills, the EZ-10's mechanicals are quite straight forward.

The exterior is a composite rectangle measuring 3928mm long, 1986mm wide and 2750mm high that sits on an aluminium chassis. It rides on 15-inch wheels, is powered by a 10kW electric motor, with storage provided by a lithium-ion battery pack that is offered in capacities between 7.2 and 20kWh.

The top speed is 40km/h and maximum range is claimed at 14 hours (those two last figures are mutually exclusive we'd bet). It weighs 1100kg and can carry an 1150kg payload, with six passengers seated and four standing.

At Challenge Bibendum the EZ-10 quietly carried bureaucrats, businessmen, media and the just plain curious around a short circular outdoor route, calmly picking its way between obstacles such as pedestrians, temporary fencing and other vehicles.

Part of the course included a right-left-right combination, which it completed with aplomb, indicating left or right at the appropriate moments.

It made some human drivers look clumsy by comparison... one in particular.

Listen to how it all unfolded with Bruce Newton's actual audio recording

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