Ever wondered what it would be like to time travel and drive a car of the future? QUT automated vehicle (AV) researcher Dr Sébastien Demmel doesn’t have to wait – he’s currently experiencing the latest in AV technology in France.
Dr Demmel is a computer scientist who has worked in Australia and France for the past 10 years on automated vehicle projects and the intelligent transportation systems that will one day allow these vehicles to hit our roads and accelerate, brake, and change lanes without the help of their driver.
His current eight-week visit with VEDECOM in Versailles is due to a research partnership between QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q), the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) and the iMOVE Cooperative Research Centre.
The knowledge and technical capability he gains will be utilised as part of TMR’s Cooperative and Highly Automated Driving (CHAD) Pilot, which will see Queensland receive a purpose-built Society of Automotive Engineers Level Four automated vehicle later this year.
This vehicle will be used to explore the safety impacts of automated vehicles on Queensland roads, and to allow road users to see and experience these types of cars.
“I work with CARRS-Q’s Intelligent Transport Systems – Human Factors team where we are designing and testing the safety of in-vehicle technologies which will change the future of driving,” Dr Demmel said.
“My job is very exciting right now as I’m in France learning how to design, build and operate a connected and automated vehicle (CAV).”
is a research collaboration based in France that involves Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, Renault, PSA, Valeo and more than 50 members including companies, academics and local authorities.
Dr Demmel is working with VEDECOM to learn from its CAVs, and gain the technical and research capability needed for these vehicles to operate in Australia. His visit to Versailles also includes on-track training with an automated car.
The VEDECOM Institute’s 56 members include firms in the automotive and aviation sectors, mobility ecosystem infrastructure and service operators, academic research bodies and Ile-de-France local authorities, working together to pioneer innovative transport solutions.
