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The Racine Badger relies on light detecting and ranging sensors to move forward, backward and sideways in addition to camera vision and GPS coordinates to map routes and detect obstacles. (Photo provided)

Meet the Racine Badger:

Racine invests in driverless technology

By MARY JANE BOGLE | The Municipal

Living up to a “smart city” designation is no small feat. It requires a continual investment in developing, deploying and promoting technology in order to solve urban challenges, and it’s something the city of Racine, Wis., takes very seriously.

Consider the city’s nine new electric buses, for example, currently in the testing and training phases. The addition of these buses brings the city of Racine the unique distinction of owning and implementing the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the state.

But perhaps even more exciting is the city’s continued exploration in the field of driverless technology. Enter the Racine Badger, an autonomous, zero-emission electric shuttle. In a partnership with Gateway Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Perrone Robotics (a Virginia-based software firm), the city has begun testing this autonomous vehicle for public use.

“Our ambition is to make the city itself a laboratory for experimentation on this emerging technology around mobility and transit,” said Racine Mayor Cory Mason.

How it works

The Racine Badger relies on light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) sensors to control forward, backward and sideways movement. The Racine Badger also relies on camera vision and GPS coordinates to map routes and detect obstacles in its path.

Understanding how the Badger works in real-life situations is key to a safe and effective deployment for public use. “We need to understand where the sensors are looking to gain information about the surrounding environment, along with how far those sensors can see,” said Professor David Noyce, director of the University of WisconsinMadison’s Traffic Operations and Safety Lab.

“All the sensors on this vehicle create a giant data set every time it runs. We have to learn how the data looks and how to process it to gain a better understanding of how to move to implementation,” he said.

“We can understand the underlying technology related to autonomous vehicles from almost anywhere,” said Noyce, “but putting it into practice in the field is the key. We already know 95% of what we need to understand. It’s the remaining 5% that needs additional research and thought before these types of vehicles can become a routine part of our transportation system.”

Noyce added, “We’re already learning some helpful information with the little bit of sampling we’ve done so far.”

Take a snow bank covering the corner of an intersection, for example, or ice covering a sensor on the pavement. Testing these scenarios in a safe, low-speed environment can lead to greater safety.

A collaborative effort

That’s why Noyce is so grateful to be partnering with Gateway Technical College, where he and his research team can conduct experiments and explore the technology in a safe environment. Not only is Gateway Technical College providing a home for the Racine Badger, it is also adding a workforce development component to the project.

“Part of the electric, connected transportation system involves understanding how the technology interacts across systems,” said Noyce. “Through the Racine Badger project, students at Gateway Technical College can be involved in data collection and analysis. So when they get into their chosen professions, they’ll already have a background to support the technology they’ll be implementing.”

The city of Racine’s investment

Of course, the project wouldn’t have been possible without the forward-thinking mindset of Racine’s leadership team. Not only did the city put forth the funding to acquire the Badger, but it also took the lead in advancing autonomous technology.

“We’re extremely thankful to Mayor Mason to step forward as the first city to take a risk and begin developing this technology for municipal applications,” said Noyce. “Now, other communities are coming forward, looking to do something similar. Without Racine taking that first step, I doubt we’d be this far in our research.”

For his part, Mayor Mason couldn’t be happier with the partnership. “I am delighted to take the next steps in bringing autonomous public transit options to the city of Racine,” he said. “Through our partnership with UW-Madison and Gateway Technical College, Racine has been able to think outside the box on how to bring smart transportation options to our residents. Now, with the help of Perrone Robotics, we will begin to test our ideas, not just in the real world, but in an urban environment and on city streets. It’s very exciting.”

Future implications

Moving automated vehicle technology forward is a topic of great interest to Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson. “We know connected automated technology is here,” he From the left, Dr. David Noyce, Mayor Cory Mason, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson and Gateway President Dr. Bryan Albrecht pose with the Racine Badger. (Photo provided)

City and state officials take a test run in the Racine Badger, a zero-emission autonomous shuttle undergoing testing and development through a partnership with the city of Racine, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Gateway Technical College. (Photo provided)

said. “This kind of testing of an autonomous vehicle in a controlled environment is important as we look at safety issues moving forward.”

Citing existing connective vehicle technology, such as adaptive cruise control, Thompson hopes that autonomous vehicle technology will result in safer roads and dramatically fewer traffic deaths. “The idea is that autonomous vehicles could eventually reduce the number of traffic deaths to near zero,” he said, “since the autonomous vehicles can sense other vehicles or pedestrians and automatically stop.”

According to Thompson, projects such as the Racine Badger provide an ideal way to strengthen the relationships with cities, universities and the state government. “Combining the resources of city, state and academia to develop proof of concepts goes a long way toward moving this technology into the next step in urban implementation. We can really save a lot of lives.”

For now, the city of Racine remains committed to supporting the kind of testing necessary to make that vision a reality, further enhancing its designation as a truly “smart city.”