Chicago Connectory member, ILAVA (Illinois Autonomous Vehicles Association), recently hosted a lunch and learn session focusing on the state of CAV technology in Illinois. This presentation was part of the organization’s connection series, which is a monthly educational lecture focused on all things mobility. Jerry Quandt, Executive Director of ILAVA, shared a summary of the various CAV activities being implemented, as well as, what is coming next.

“If you can see what three drivers in front of you can see, that would make you a safer and better driver. This is the direction we can move towards, however this does not exist yet”, Jerry explained. Jerry shared two important points of mobility: safety and efficiency. In order to move towards safety and efficiency, it is necessary to implement vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-building communication and inform traffic patterns in real-time. This way, vehicles can detect objects and traffic patterns in order to avoid them.

There is currently real-life pilot testing happening in Peoria, IL by Autonomous Stuff. Jerry shared a simulation video that shows a car moving along the road with auto detection that stops at lights, changes speed according to the car in front, and detects objects such as people to slow down or stop.