Automated Driving on Rural Roads

Launch Demo 1: Automated Driving on Rural Roads

Self-driving on rural roads is significantly different from urban driving because critical infrastructure like high-quality pavement, clear lane markings, traffic signs, and mapped roads are often missing. Private industry will be slow to address these challenges since rural road operations do not present favorable short-term economics. This demonstration addresses these problems by developing self-driving software tailored specifically to navigate this challenging use-case. The University of Oklahoma (OU) will showcase its latest end-to-end learning-based self-driving system, which learns from human driving behavior under similar conditions to provide robust performance. Unlike existing advanced driver assistant systems (ADAS) offered by commercial OEMs like Ford or GM, OU’s system does not rely on clear and visible lane marks to maintain its lane. Testing will be conducted on modified vehicles, including a 2025 Nissan Leaf SV Plus and a 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5, utilizing the open-source Openpilot software. Beyond lane-keeping evaluations on rough roads filled with potholes, the test plan incorporates 2D vector map-based navigation to assess autonomous performance at intersections. Finally, the demo will feature self-driving vehicle teleoperation using gaming hardware to demonstrate reliable remote override control during safety-critical scenarios like accident scenes and rare construction zones.