Self-Driving Technology: Improving Safety Through Sound

• 2 July 2024

BRISTOL/CRANFIELD, United Kingdom

Calyo, Benedex Robotics and Cranfield University have joined forces to improve safety in self-driving vehicles.

The new partnership, part of the DRIVEN BY SOUND project led by Calyo, will develop a functional safety sensing platform based on 3D ultrasound, capable of operating effectively in even the most challenging environmental conditions.

The new technology allows autonomous vehicles to detect their surroundings in 3D in real time. It complements existing sensing and safety detection systems, providing an additional layer of safety and reliability.

Mihai Caleap, CEO of Calyo, said: “Our partnership is delivering a robust, redundant sensing platform based on 3D ultrasound for autonomous driving and in driver-assist applications. The technology will be applicable across various vehicle platforms, including off-road industrial uses, making it transferable to a broad range of industries.”

The platform will be available to Tier 1 suppliers, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and start-up mobility ventures as a reliable and functional safety module. It serves as a crucial redundancy mechanism, enabling vehicles to perform minimum risk manoeuvres (MRMs) and safely stop in the event of a fault or severe road conditions.

Snir Benedek, CEO of Benedex Robotics, added: “By integrating this additional layer of functional safety we are introducing innovation, which is transformative in the industry, while cost-effective and easy to implement, establishing the foundation for accessible safe and secure autonomous mobility.”

The collaboration combines Calyo’s 3D ultrasound sensor technology, Calyo Pulse™, Benedex’s safety platform expertise, and Cranfield University’s experience in integrating and testing autonomous road vehicles. The end product will provide a crucial redundancy mechanism for enhanced safety in autonomous vehicles.

Marco Cecotti, Lecturer in Driving Automation at Cranfield University, said: “Safety has to be top of the agenda for autonomous vehicle development, and this exciting project will inform a robust solution to deal with extreme environmental conditions, one of the biggest technical challenges to the widespread availability of self-driving vehicles.”

The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, culminating in the demonstration of a vehicle prototype equipped with this technology at Cranfield University’s Multi User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (MUEAVI) proving ground.

ENDS

About Calyo Limited

Established in 2020 in Bristol, UK, Calyo is a leading specialist in AI-enabled deep ultrasound technology, driving advancements in safe autonomous mobility. With their unique and novel low-energy, high-performance hardware and software stack based on 3D ultrasound, Calyo provides unparalleled flexibility for their customers and partners, ushering in a new era of perception solutions in the industry.

About Benedex Robotics Limited

Founded in 2020, Benedex specialises in the development and design of electric-powered autonomous platforms. Benedex’s patented Modular Mobility™ system is an interconnecting block-based system for assembling industrial grade, functionally safe mobile platforms.

About Cranfield University

Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university that is a global leader for education and trans-formational research in technology and management. The most recent Research Excellence Framework results demonstrate Cranfield University’s excellence with 88% of research rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The Advanced Vehicle Engineering Centre (AVEC) particularly focuses on the development, ap-plication and evaluation of ground vehicle technologies that leads to more capable, lighter, greener and more efficient vehicles, and manages a portfolio of engineering courses in the automotive and motorsport domain.

Our education and award-winning research covers all modes of vehicles and transport across technology, engineering and management, including sustainable transport and intelligent mobility.

Our Multi-User Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation is a £9 million ‘smart’ roadway test environment for the development of intelligent and autonomous vehicles, the first of its kind in the UK next to an airport and within the controlled setting of a university campus. It includes the associated systems needed to integrate emerging technologies into our day-to-day lives.

About DRIVEN BY SOUND

DRIVEN BY SOUND received funding from the Commercialising CAM Supply Chain Competition (CCAMSC). The Commercialising CAM programme is funded by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.

DRIVEN BY SOUND is aligned with the Government’s mission to enhance safety and security. It will deliver a fundamental vehicle navigation system designed for operation in all weather conditions and fully adaptable to various vehicle types, from low-speed logistics to port movers, and commercial vehicles. The project not only enhances public perception but also fast-tracks the journey to Level 5 autonomy, ensuring that the full societal benefits of CAM are within reach.