Technology designed to improve the driving experience has largely focused on the vehicles themselves, with items such as advanced sensors and cameras designed to help drivers and develop autonomous vehicle features.
But what if the roads themselves could communicate about upcoming hazards or traffic?
This month, the Texas Department of Transportation announced it will create a smart freight corridor near Austin that could be used for self-driving trucks and other advanced vehicles on a 21-mile segment of Texas 130 between Texas 71 and Texas 45 North, including areas between Georgetown and Del Valle.
In the announcement, TxDOT said the pilot program will use technology from Washington, D.C.-based startup Cavnue to observe operations across the entire corridor, use a mix of hardware and software technology to understand what is happening on the road, and share that information with vehicles and TxDOT in real time.
Here's what we know about the corridor:
How does the technology work?
Cavnue's technology uses cameras and advanced sensors on the roadway, along with a software platform that digitizes what is happening on a road. The technology can be added to the roads in a matter of months with minimal disruption, Cavnue CEO Tyler Duvall said.
The technology is designed to work in conjunction with self-driving vehicles such as trucks, which Duvall said are already equipped with advanced sensors that are dependent on the quality of road elements such as lane markings and pavement for effective operation.
He said the pilot will determine whether feeding a vehicle information beyond what it can "see" with its own camera and sensors will improve operations.
Self-driving trucks are on already on Texas roads
Duvall said Texas is in a position to lead on autonomous trucking because of its friendly regulatory environment, location in key freight corridors and lack of weather, such as snow, that would cause issues for autonomous vehicles.
Texas is already home to several pilot programs in which companies are testing self-driving trucks on Texas roads while monitored by human drivers. This includes Aurora, which is testing its trucks in the Dallas area and between Houston and El Paso. Kodiak Robotics has been testing its semitrucks and making deliveries in Texas.
In Austin, Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck, this year opened an engineering office that aims to accelerate self-driving truck technology.
In Texas, self-driving vehicles are allowed to operate without a driver inside and can be used on highways as long as they follow traffic laws and are equipped with video recording equipment, according to a state law passed in 2017. The vehicles also are required to have insurance, and manufacturers are considered responsible for any broken laws or collisions.