The U.S.-Canadian border is a busy one, and a likely frequent candidate for self-driving cars to tackle in a future where streets are laden with autonomous vehicles. That’s why a forthcoming cross-border self-driving test ride (via Engadget) should be very informative.
Automotive supply giants Continental and Magna are teaming up to send autonomous vehicles from southern Michigan to Sarnia, in Ontario across the Canadian border, with crossings at both the tunnel that links Detroit and Windsor, as well as at Sarnia’s Blue Water Bridge.
The challenge will be less a technical one and more about identifying how exactly this kind of international trip will work with autonomous tech enabled, and it’ll also include segments of driver control along the route, with driverless mode enabled wherever possible.
Border crossings are also unique in a number of ways when compared to standard driving conditions, which makes it a great opportunity for gathering sensor data from the vehicle’s onboard camera, LiDAR and radar arrays. Edge cases are the big hill still left to climb for effective autonomous tech, and traveling between countries is definitely an interesting scenario to nail down.