Domain adaptation is required for automated driving models to generalize well across diverse road conditions. This paper explores a training method for domain adaptation to adapt PilotNet, an end-to-end deep learning-based model, for left-hand driving conditions using real-world Australian highway data. Four training methods were evaluated: (1) a baseline model trained on U.S. right-hand driving data, (2) a model trained on flipped U.S. data, (3) a model pretrained on U.S. data and then fine-tuned on Australian highways, and (4) a model pretrained on flipped U.S. data and then finetuned on Australian highways. This setup examines whether incorporating flipped data enhances the model adaptation by providing an initial left-hand driving alignment. The paper compares model performance regarding steering prediction accuracy and attention, using saliency-based analysis to measure attention shifts across significant road regions. Results show that pretraining on flipped data alone worsens prediction stability due to misaligned feature representations, but significantly improves adaptation when followed by fine-tuning, leading to lower prediction error and stronger focus on left-side cues. To validate this approach across different architectures, the same experiments were done on ResNet, which confirmed similar adaptation trends. These findings emphasize the importance of preprocessing techniques, such as flipped-data pretraining, followed by fine-tuning to improve model adaptation with minimal retraining requirements.

Many agencies have adopted the FHWA-recommended systemic approach to traffic safety, an essential supplement to the traditional hotspot crash analysis which develops region-wide safety projects based on identified risk factors. However, this approach narrows analysis to specific crash and facility types. This specification causes inefficient use of crash and inventory data as well as non-comprehensive risk evaluation and countermeasure selection for each location. To improve the comprehensiveness of the systemic approach to safety, we develop an enhanced process, ROADFIRST, that allows users to identify potential crash types and contributing factors at any location. As the knowledge base for such a process, crash types and contributing factors are analyzed with respect to features of interest, including both dynamic and static traffic-related features, using Random Forest and analyzed with the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis. We identify and rank features impacting the likelihood of three sample contributing factors, namely alcohol-impaired driving, distracted driving, and speeding, according to crash and road inventory data from North Carolina, and quantify state-wide road segment risk for each contributing factor. The introduced models and methods serve as a sample for the further development of ROADFIRST by state and local agencies, which benefits the planning of more comprehensive region-wide safety improvement projects.

Algorithms process this data to pinpoint exact coordinates[11][12]. Geo-localization is important for organizing and analyzing large volumes of imagery data, as demonstrated by systems like the US Geological Survey (USGS), which classify and locate satellite and drone images to streamline data collection and analysis. Social media platforms like Instagram use geo-localization to tag photos with specific locations, enabling users to explore location-based content[11]. Despite its significance, many images and videos lack geo-localization data, particularly those collected in the past or by devices without GPS capabilities[12].

Cycling stress assessment, which quantifies cyclists' perceived stress imposed by the built environment and motor traffics, increasingly informs cycling infrastructure planning and cycling route recommendation. However, currently calculating cycling stress is slow and data-intensive, which hinders its broader application. In this paper, We propose a deep learning framework to support accurate, fast, and large-scale cycling stress assessments for urban road networks based on street-view images. Our framework features i) a contrastive learning approach that leverages the ordinal relationship among cycling stress labels, and ii) a post-processing technique that enforces spatial smoothness into our predictions. On a dataset of 39,153 road segments collected in Toronto, Canada, our results demonstrate the effectiveness of our deep learning framework and the value of using image data for cycling stress assessment in the absence of high-quality road geometry and motor traffic data.

High Definition (HD) maps are necessary for many applications of automated driving (AD), but their manual creation and maintenance is very costly. Vehicle fleet data from series production vehicles can be used to automatically generate HD maps, but the data is often incomplete and noisy. We propose a system for the generation of HD maps from vehicle fleet data, which is tolerant to missing or misclassified detections and can handle drives with multiple routes, generating a single complete map, model-free and without prior reference lines. Using randomly selected drives as pivot drives, a step-wise lateral sampling of detections is performed. These sampled points are then clustered and aligned using Expectation Maximization (EM), estimating a lateral offset for each drive to compensate localization errors. The clustered points are replaced with the maxima of their probability density function (PDF) and connected to form polylines using a modified rectangular linear assignment algorithm. The data from vehicles on varying routes is then fused into a hierarchical singular map graph. The proposed approach achieves an average accuracy below 0.5 meters compared to a hand annotated ground truth map, as well as correctly resolving lane splits and merges, proving the feasibility of the use of vehicle fleet data for the generation of highway HD maps.

Traffic forecasting models rely on data that needs to be sensed, processed, and stored. This requires the deployment and maintenance of traffic sensing infrastructure, often leading to unaffordable monetary costs. The lack of sensed locations can be complemented with synthetic data simulations that further lower the economical investment needed for traffic monitoring. One of the most common data generative approaches consists of producing real-like traffic patterns, according to data distributions from analogous roads. The process of detecting roads with similar traffic is the key point of these systems. However, without collecting data at the target location no flow metrics can be employed for this similarity-based search. We present a method to discover locations among those with available traffic data by inspecting topological features of road segments. Relevant topological features are extracted as numerical representations (embeddings) to compare different locations and eventually find the most similar roads based on the similarity between their embeddings. The performance of this novel selection system is examined and compared to simpler traffic estimation approaches. After finding a similar source of data, a generative method is used to synthesize traffic profiles. Depending on the resemblance of the traffic behavior at the sensed road, the generation method can be fed with data from one road only. Several generation approaches are analyzed in terms of the precision of the synthesized samples. Above all, this work intends to stimulate further research efforts towards enhancing the quality of synthetic traffic samples and thereby, reducing the need for sensing infrastructure.

A model invented by researchers at MIT and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) that uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps could help improve GPS navigation. Showing drivers more details about their routes can often help them navigate in unfamiliar locations. Lane counts, for instance, can enable a GPS system to warn drivers of diverging or merging lanes. Incorporating information about parking spots can help drivers plan ahead, while mapping bicycle lanes can help cyclists negotiate busy city streets. Providing updated information on road conditions can also improve planning for disaster relief.

A model invented by researchers at MIT and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) that uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps could help improve GPS navigation. Showing drivers more details about their routes can often help them navigate in unfamiliar locations. Lane counts, for instance, can enable a GPS system to warn drivers of diverging or merging lanes. Incorporating information about parking spots can help drivers plan ahead, while mapping bicycle lanes can help cyclists negotiate busy city streets. Providing updated information on road conditions can also improve planning for disaster relief.

A model invented by researchers at MIT and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) that uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps could help improve GPS navigation. Showing drivers more details about their routes can often help them navigate in unfamiliar locations. Lane counts, for instance, can enable a GPS system to warn drivers of diverging or merging lanes. Incorporating information about parking spots can help drivers plan ahead, while mapping bicycle lanes can help cyclists negotiate busy city streets. Providing updated information on road conditions can also improve planning for disaster relief.