The Government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has launched a trial to investigate the effectiveness of vehicle automation technology on the road.

The trial will see the use of cars with integrated vehicle automation technology at one of Australia’s major motorway networks to evaluate performance under current infrastructure.

Multiple automobile manufacturers such as BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes, Audi, Tesla and Volvo are taking part in the trail.

Motorway operator Transurban is also associated with this project.

“This research will show us where we may need to make changes in how we maintain and improve our current road infrastructure.”

The Australian Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said: “This groundbreaking project will position NSW as a leader in automated vehicle technology and build trust and reliability for the driverless vehicles of the future.

“This research will show us where we may need to make changes in how we maintain and improve our current road infrastructure, as well as how we design, build and manage smart infrastructure in the future.”

Scheduled to continue until October this year, the on-road trials will be conducted on the Sydney orbital network, including Lane Cove Tunnel, the Hills M2 Motorway, Westlink M7, the M5, the Eastern Distributor, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel.

All of the cars participating in the trial will be operated under different conditions. The procured data will be published by the end of the year.

NSW Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey said: “Last year, we lost 392 people on our roads, which is 12 more than in 2016.

“We know that a majority of crashes occur due to human error, technology is giving us the opportunity to see real safety benefits on our roads.”

Several other connected and automated vehicle trials are underway in NSW, including the NSW Smart Shuttle at Sydney Olympic Park and the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Initiative project in the Illawarra.