An Augmented Reality Environment for Connected and Automated Vehicle Testing and Evaluation

Testing and evaluation are critical steps in the development of connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology. One limitation of closed CAV testing facilities is that they merely provide empty roadways, in which testing CAVs can only interact with a limited number of other CAVs and infrastructure. This paper presents an augmented reality environment for CAV testing and evaluation. A real-world testing facility and a simulation platform are combined together. Movements of testing CAVs in the real world are synchronized with simulation and information of background traffic is fed back to testing CAVs. Testing CAVs can interact with virtual background traffic as if in a realistic traffic environment. The proposed system mainly consists of three components: a simulation platform, testing CAVs, and a communication network. Testing scenarios that have safety concerns and/or require interactions with other vehicles can be performed. Two exemplary test scenarios are designed and implemented to demonstrate the capabilities of the system.