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A Long and Winding Road, Florida Forges Ahead to Implement Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technology
By Todd Rohack, Southeast Communications Lead for Jacobs and Lindsey Ranayhossaini, Staff Writer
In 2021, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) published a policy principles document that included recommendations calling for safety verification of automated driving systems to ensure the safe operations of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). AASHTO concluded that CAV technology has the potential to improve safety, equity and sustainability.
But preparations to integrate CAVs into Florida’s transportation infrastructure began much earlier, as the state legislature declared its intent to “encourage the safe development, testing, and operation of motor vehicles with autonomous technology on the public roads of the state” in 2012 with House Bill 1207.
“That evolved to being landmark legislation,” said Beth Kigel, vice president of intelligent transportation and emerging mobility solutions for HNTB and chair of Autonomous Florida.
Since then, a flurry of state legislation has established further provisions to allow vehicles to operate in autonomous mode, including 2019 legislation that made Florida one of the first states to define an automated system as a vehicle operator with House Bill 311.
Coupled with state legislation aimed at attracting new industries to Florida and a climate conducive to vehicle testing, these policies have led to an explosion of growth in statewide projects and initiatives aimed at expanding access to transportation and increasing safe transit through CAVs.
In fact, Project Link, an undisclosed entity, is pursuing a $100 million capital investment project to establish a manufacturing facility for electronic autonomous vehicles in Jacksonville. Project Link’s strategic plan includes the creation of a 450,000-square-foot manufacturing space that will initially employ 145 workers and expand to more than 200 workers.
“Given our favorable and thoughtful regulatory environment, the collaboration across sectors, and community engagement, I am bullish on Florida continuing to be a leader in mobility innovation,” Kigel said.
Infrastructure Adaptations
In 2023, the Florida Legislature paved the way for adaptations to prepare the state’s infrastructure for CAVs when it set a requirement for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to grade roadways based on their ability to support driving systems that utilize CAV technologies.
“FDOT is currently developing the criteria and standards, which can be used to grade roadways for supporting CAV operations on them,” said Trey Tillander, executive director of transportation technology for the FDOT.
Necessary adaptations to existing infrastructure to accommodate CAVs include improving signage and pavement markings, implementing standard sixinch-wide traffic striping, and improving minimum performance requirements of the striping in all weather conditions. FDOT began implementing these changes several years ago, Tillander said, as they also benefit human drivers.
To allow CAVs to connect and exchange important information, FDOT is pursuing enhancements to the digital infrastructure system that supports the state’s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) network. The department is investing in a Vehicle-to-Everything Data Exchange Platform to house data from sources throughout the state.
“It's actually a very complex ecosystem, because you have the FDOT-managed network, but then you have local agencies that operate their roadways as well,” said Craig Toth, vice president and practice consultant for HNTB. “Florida is one of the only states to have all of their limited-access or their interstate facilities fully covered by ITS deployments. What that does is to allow for communication to occur.”
Toth, who serves as project manager for HNTB’s various digital infrastructure solutions projects, said Florida also has robust regional transportation management centers (TMCs). The TMCs in each FDOT geographic district are interconnected, and this connectivity allows data to be centrally managed and shared.
Enhancements to the digital infrastructure system that supports the state’s ITS network are also necessary to accommodate CAVs, Tillander said. These include fiber optic cable connectivity along all freeway corridors, upgrading environmental sensor stations to detect smoke and fog, and enhancing traffic signal controllers to accept additional inputs for the detection of freight, transit and vulnerable road users to improve operations and broadcast signal status via connected systems.
“It really provides an opportunity to update existing systems – primarily traffic signal controllers – so that they're more adaptable and they have interconnectivity,” Toth said. “It really is a multimodal solution, but it requires some updating to existing legacy systems.”
The Suntrax Facility
Though test sites and mobility innovation initiatives abound throughout Florida, the state’s SunTrax facility, opened in June 2023, is the newest development in Florida’s push to become an emerging hub for transportation innovation and safety. Developed by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise (part of FDOT), the facility in Auburndale is designed for the research, development and testing of emerging transportation technologies in safe and controlled environments.
SunTrax’s 200-acre infield facility was designed by Jacobs and its teaming partners Bentley Architects + Engineers, Salas O’Brien, and Ramski and Company. Surrounding the infield is a 2.25-mile oval track that allows highwayspeed, multi-lane testing of passenger vehicles as well as semi-truck testing for tolling operations, truck platooning and emerging technologies in the fleet vehicle industries.
“Facilities have been around for decades to test conventional vehicles and human drivers,” said Scott Carter, the project manager with Jacobs who led design and development of the infield at SunTrax. “But with SunTrax, we had to design for a customer who doesn’t yet exist—the eventual operator of the facility. That meant that it had to be modular, re-configurable and above all, flexible for future technologies.” to certain areas of the state, and initiating outreach programs and collaborations with desirable mobility industry partners.
Users of the facility’s test sectors can employ standard tests like wet track testing to test vehicular safety and driver (and soon computer) control on slick surfaces, icy roads or worn-out pavement. SunTrax also features several CAV-inspired test sectors, including an environment that features a signalized boulevard equipped with interconnected controllers, full pedestrian features and a grid of city streets.
The boulevard in SunTrax can be outfitted with shipping containers stacked up to six high with removable facades to simulate building materials like glass, metal and brick. This urban canyon can be reconfigured with different faux building heights and materials to test the sensory capabilities of CAV radar communications and other sensors.
SunTrax’s geometry track tests the ability of drivers and CAV technology to deal with blind hilltops, valleys and intersections where approaches can’t be seen. While typical roadway slopes in Florida vary up to 4% or 6%, the geometry track includes hills up to 28% in grade. It was specifically designed to answer the question: What does a CAV’s artificial intelligence decide to do when sensory inputs are incomplete? For example, when it can’t see over the hill or around a corner?
“This unique 475-acre facility brings a new era of advanced transportation and technology testing,” Tillander said. “Florida has industry, facilities, infrastructure owners and researchers working in tandem to make CAV testing and implementation in Florida second to none.”
Florida 2030
Kigel cited the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Florida 2030 Blueprint, a comprehensive plan that maps out six key areas of targeted growth within the state by 2030, as a driving force behind Florida’s adoption of CAV technologies.
Some of the goals outlined in the blueprint include connecting all population economic centers to markets and achieving access to public and private mobility services for every Florida resident, as well as Florida reaching rankings within the top five states for manufacturing, and top three states for tech jobs and venture capital investments.
Autonomous Florida, another Florida Chamber of Commerce initiative, works to make Florida “the mobility innovation capital of the world” by recruiting mobility industry partners to the state, tracking the inventory of the state’s existing mobility innovation projects, advocating for policy that supports mobility innovation development, defining centers of excellence to attract industry partners.
“Our goal is to contribute to the overarching goals of the Florida 2030 Blueprint, and given the innovations and the regulatory environment in the state, we’re poised to do that,” Kigel said.
The work to bring Florida to the forefront of mobility innovation revolves around two primary goals: transportation safety and access.
The National Safety Council reported 46,027 traffic deaths in the United States in 2022, and Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 3,320 traffic deaths in Florida in 2022. On top of this, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that approximately 94% of motor vehicle crashes are caused by driver error.
Advocates for CAVs contend that information sharing between vehicles, roadside pedestrians and other modes will make the roadways safer for all travelers. Known as vehicle-to-everything, or V2X technology, it connects all elements that affect or can be affected by a vehicle.
“When a motorist gets in a vehicle to drive, there is an expectation to arrive safely; however, driver behavior continues to be a significant factor,” Tillander said. “The FDOT CAV program is working to create an environment where we can significantly reduce or eliminate crashes on Florida’s roadways by providing the infrastructure to allow more data to be shared so faster, more informed decisions can be made.”
And many new vehicles are already equipped with autonomous technologies like lane assist, automated braking and adaptive cruise control to compensate for distracted driving or other sources of human error.
“There are different levels of technology,” Toth said. “It's very well implemented in current cars. [CAV technology] is something that continues to evolve and adapt as new technology, better processing and best practices come online.”
Transportation Access
The Florida Chamber of Commerce’s Florida Prosperity Project, an initiative with the objective of cutting childhood poverty in half by 2030, cites insufficient transportation options as one of the 10 root causes of poverty. By preparing the state to adopt CAV technology and ultimately expand access to transportation options like autonomous shuttles, CAV advocates hope to connect more people with jobs and help to establish their independence.
“When it comes to AV options, I often mention the ability to allow those who have been dependent on others to be more independent to get where they need to go in a safe and efficient manner,” Kigel said.
“This is something, for example, that creates opportunity for Florida’s aging population, as well as for working families struggling to get their children to school and other activities.”
In recent years, there have been deployments of autonomous shuttles in the United States, including programs in Altamonte Springs, Jacksonville, Lake Nona, Orlando and Port St. Lucie. These programs are powered by Beep, an Orlando-based company that promises to “deliver the next generation of autonomous, shared mobility solutions through its software and services.”
Autonomous shuttle deployments can serve “the last mile” to help individuals reach public transit options using shuttle services from their homes, Toth said. These smaller fleets can provide connectivity and build out a transportation network that wouldn’t be possible with traditional options like buses.
However, there have been some bumps in the road with autonomous shuttle deployments. In Oct. 2023, the California DMV suspended the use of autonomous vehicles operated by Cruise after a San Francisco pedestrian was struck and critically injured by a Cruise robotaxi. Prior to the incident, there had been many other cases of near-collisions, traffic disruptions and driving errors made by Cruise vehicles operating in San Francisco.
Though autonomous vehicles promise more transportation options and access, they must prove to be a dependable, safe transportation source to become widely adopted.
“At the end of the day, for some people to utilize a public service, the experience has to be a very good experience,” Kigel said.
The Road Ahead
Even with the challenges presented by CAV technology, there remains a wide variety of ways that autonomous vehicles can be incorporated into the transportation framework of the future. Whether that be through autonomous shuttles and air taxis or delivery services like drones or autonomous freight trucks, companies are continuing to find ways to innovate in this space.
“Autonomous trucks are already sharing the road with traditional vehicles with a driver,” Kigel said.
“The good news is that no one has really noticed but for announcements related to the successes. At some point, this will increase and we will also see more connected and autonomous vehicles on our roadways – ride hail or personally owned – sharing the roadway with those that prefer to drive their own vehicles.
“We will certainly have a more autonomous and connected world by 2030, but it will be very much integrated with human drivers on the roadways.”
