Roads of the future

The future is automated

We are living in a connected world, where our fridges remind us to buy milk, our phones tell us when to go to bed and our cars can read speed-limit signs and slow down or speed up—all on their own.

This kind of connected technology is set to dramatically change how we travel in the future. As more and more connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) appear on our roads, with varying purposes and levels of sophistication, transport operators will have more and more opportunities to use this technology to everyone’s advantage.

We don’t know when the vast majority of cars (and trucks) on our roads will be CAVs—this timeline is still hotly debated. But we do know CAVs are coming—and we also know we need to be ready.

Roads of the future

The future is automated

We are living in a connected world, where our fridges remind us to buy milk, our phones tell us when to go to bed and our cars can read speed-limit signs and slow down or speed up—all on their own.

This kind of connected technology is set to dramatically change how we travel in the future. As more and more connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) appear on our roads, with varying purposes and levels of sophistication, transport operators will have more and more opportunities to use this technology to everyone’s advantage.

We don’t know when the vast majority of cars (and trucks) on our roads will be CAVs—this timeline is still hotly debated. But we do know CAVs are coming—and we also know we need to be ready.

High-tech roads for an even higher-tech tomorrow

Our roads are some of the most sophisticated in the world, fitted out with millions of pieces of technology to ensure the road runs smoothly and safely (go here for more on road safety). CAVs will benefit from roads that can ‘talk’ to them, providing vital information about what’s happening around them and ahead, beyond the range of their own sensors.

We’ve trialled various types of CAVs on our motorways, both to investigate this technology and to identify issues and opportunities specific to our road infrastructure. This includes trials of an automated truck, partially automated vehicles already on the road today, highly automated vehicles, connected vehicle communications (platooning), remote operation of automated vehicles and automation of vehicles for specific road operations/maintenance tasks.

Our most recent trial involved an automated truck travelling on CityLink (Melbourne), using its automated driving technology to navigate along the motorway. This Australian-first trial tested both the automated truck’s operations on a managed motorway, and also tested how our road technology data (for example, speed limit information) could enhance the truck’s on-road performance.

Trial data is helping us understand how CAVs can safely handle dynamic scenarios on motorways such as incidents and roadworks.

We’ve also been talking to people about CAVs and getting a sense of community attitudes towards the arrival and use of CAVs. Take a look at what we’ve been learning below.

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Trials

Find out how CAVs
responded on our roads

Market research
Market research

What the Australian community
is saying about CAVs

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News

The latest CAV
trial developments

Going forward, we’re continuing to explore opportunities for commercial adoption of more highly automated
CAVs, along with innovations in technology and road operations to support their safe introduction.