3) Technological Development for Lane-level Road Traffic Information Using Probes Vehicle Data

<p>Autonomous automated vehicles operate based on a limited range of information. If there is an accident or other traffic congestion ahead then they may need to decelerate suddenly, and if there is heavy traffic then they may be unable to change lanes smoothly. At such times, allowing the traffic situation ahead to be known in advance for each lane (anticipatory information) would make it possible for automated vehicles to drive more safely and smoothly; for example, by decelerating earlier or changing lanes in a more prepared and relaxed way. With the spread of connected vehicles, a data acquisition environment for generating such anticipatory information is becoming available, but not in a format that enables direct lane-by-lane understanding of traffic conditions. This project aims to develop technology for lane-level traffic information, which would be considered highly useful for the safe and smooth driving of automated vehicles. As an element of this goal, the project established an FOT (Field Operational Tests) environment to confirm the level of lane-by-land data that can be generated from the probe information from vehicles currently on the market and then offer centralized aggregation and distribution of the generated data together with other road traffic environment data.</p>