CANdrive, the first automated vehicle trial in the world to focus on driver behaviour commenced at Canberra’s Sutton Driver Training Track, using Seeing Machines technology to test how quickly a driver can be ready to resume control of an automated vehicle.

Our driving monitoring software tracks the driver’s facial movements and expressions to determine whether they are paying sufficient attention and sounds an alert if they need to look at the road and retain full control of the vehicle.

Led by the ACT Government and supported closely by Seeing Machines, CANdrive was launched onsite at the Sutton Road Driver Training Centre, hosted by ACT Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA and supported by Kate Lundy, co-chair ACT Automated Vehicle Trial Committee. The event helped to recruit Canberra drivers to participate in phase one – a test track trial.

“The ACT Government is proud to have formed an industry partnership with local company Seeing Machines to conduct this trial”, said Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA. “Seeing Machines is leading the world in decoding the interaction between people and machines, as increasingly-automated vehicles are developed.”

“Canberra is a progressive and growing city that has earned the reputation as Australia’s testbed for innovative new technology and business models that can improve the lives of our citizens: we’ve supported Uber into our city, we’re hosting world-first drone delivery trials, and now we’re pioneering research to make automated vehicles safer.”

Seeing Machines Chairman Ken Kroeger commented: “The data we collect in trials such as CANdrive is critical to advancing safety of communities all around the world. Automated technologies are emerging across many transport sectors and it is Seeing Machines’ goal, through our driver monitoring platform, to help advance these developments with safety as the highest priority. The continued support of the ACT Government helps Seeing Machines sustain its leadership position as we develop our core technology to meet the needs of our partners, customers and stakeholders.”

To learn more about the program and its goals, read the CANdrive Automated Vehicle Trial report.