back to article It knows where the gravel pits and power lines are. So, Ordnance Survey, where should UK's driverless cars go?

UK cartographer the Ordnance Survey (OS) has been selected by the government to help it create an infrastructure for driverless cars. With £750,000 from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, OS's "E-CAVE" intends to develop an infrastructure with "open standards and architecture" focusing on "positioning and safety". "E- …

  1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    BINGO!!!!

    "OS will be providing expertise, advice and evidence-based insights with a view to helping uplift the test beds capability for the UK."

    Form the OS? Is nowhere safe from bollocks spouters these days?

  2. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Trollface

    A trivial coding task

    10 Northing, northing, northing...

    20 Easting, easting, easting...

    30 GOTO 10

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map…"

    A nice bit of fiddling.

    1. TRT Silver badge

      Yenta, Yenta, Yenta...

      Chava I've found him, will you be a lucky bride?

      He's handsome, he's tall - that is from side to side

      But he's a nice man, a good catch, right? Right.

      You've heard he's got a temper, he'll beat you every night

      But only when he's sober - so you're alright

  4. Dave Bell

    Maps are useful, but things change

    I hope this involves up-to-date mapping data, because I know that some published OS maps are at least a couple of years out of date, still missing new roundabouts on major roads, and it took time for both roundabouts to get onto other on-line maps and sat-nav databases.

    And GPS or map data just isn't going to be good enough to stop vehicles hitting anything.

    1. BoldMan

      Re: Maps are useful, but things change

      The paper maps will always be a bit out of date, in fact to be honest all maps will always be out of date unless there is 100% universal coverage of road blocks, diversions etc

      That said, I'd trust the OS to be more accurate and up to date than Google or any other supplier...

      1. Peter2 Silver badge
        Meh

        Re: Maps are useful, but things change

        That said, I'd trust the OS to be more accurate and up to date than Google or any other supplier...

        It should be, but I wouldn't bet on the OS knowing more than Google.

        If a constant stream of android phones running google maps in vehicles are travelling at 30 mph in opposite directions through what's recorded as an open field then Google could decide there might be a new road there and stick it on a map automatically. I wouldn't say it's impossible that Google could get more information from location data on andriod phones than the OS does through their processes.

        1. IsJustabloke
          Stop

          Re: Maps are useful, but things change

          "It should be, but I wouldn't bet on the OS knowing more than Google"

          There is so much more to OS mapping than "roads"

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Maps are useful, but things change

            There is so much more to OS mapping than "roads"

            However your driverless car probably doesn't differentiate between church with a tower and church with a steeple

          2. Pedigree-Pete
            Facepalm

            OS Maps vs Google or anything else.

            I'm wondering why anyone would use an OS map in a car except for off roading. I've only ever used OS maps on foot, usually miles from the nearest road. In a car I use a Road map, as current as I can find. PP

      2. anothercynic Silver badge

        Re: Maps are useful, but things change

        At times, Google is more up to date with its stuff given it pulls data from a variety of sources, including the OS. Case in point:

        OS: https://osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/51.5968055,-1.2752334,16

        Google: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5968055,-1.2752334,16z

        Google shows the new Harwell Village bypass (the little road to the east of the A34), OS doesn't. The road isn't even open yet... yet Google already includes it. This comes from the Highways Agency whose proposals to the Oxfordshire County Council (well, the SODC) included the complete alignments...

        1. David Harper 1

          Re: Maps are useful, but things change

          "Google shows the new Harwell Village bypass (the little road to the east of the A34), OS doesn't. The road isn't even open yet... yet Google already includes it."

          You'd better hope that satnav systems are using the OS version, then, otherwise the workers building the bypass will get a nasty surprise when some clueless idiot follows his satnav's instructions to take the road that they are still building.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Maps are useful, but things change

      Maybe someone with a premium account could help.

      The online maps are out of date. A roundabout near me is not shown online, nor is the massive housing esate being constructed (20% houses are now lived in).

      However, I know the premium accounts show far more than online, as that is just simply the paper versions.

      It does raise a point. How will an self drive car deal with things such as new roundabouts. If the car was to "scan" the area, it would think little has changed, as the old road, pretty much goes straight on as it did before (just with a little kink), but it now has to give way to traffic from junction that used to never have priority.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: Maps are useful, but things change

        "It does raise a point. How will an self drive car deal with things such as new roundabouts. If the car was to "scan" the area, it would think little has changed, as the old road, pretty much goes straight on as it did before (just with a little kink), but it now has to give way to traffic from junction that used to never have priority."

        Hopefully, the AV designers will continue to, as now, give priority to what the car "sees" over what the probably out-of-date maps show.

        As for online maps being out of date, there's no real need for that now. I don't see it being a hard thing to have a central OS mapping portal where all changes must be logged as part of the planning process. There's no practical reason why that can't happen since the only people making changes to the road network are national and local government. Changes already have to go through a planning process which involves all sorts of legally mandated processes. The AV will still need to identify short term blockages such as vehicle making deliveries etc., but that's a fundamental part of the design process anyway.

        The really interesting bit will be the sudden appearance of sink-holes or weather related events such as flash flooding, mud slides and exploding manhole covers, not to mention identifying where the road is in heavy snow! I've driven down the A1 from Scotland and there are parts of the single carriage way stretches where a few inches of snow makes it almost impossible to identify the edges of the road. Yoiu really don't want to be the one in front in those parts.

      2. vtcodger Silver badge

        Re: Maps are useful, but things change

        "It does raise a point. How will an self drive car deal with things such as new roundabouts."

        What the vehicle "sees" has to take precedence over what it "knows" (i.e. the map) Otherwise, road construction projects will be impossible, accidents involving immobile vehicles will tie up traffic for tens of miles, and self driving cars will be useless during/after floods and earthquakes. And vehicle vision and object discrimination is going to have to be very, very good.

    3. Teiwaz

      Re: Maps are useful, but things change

      And GPS or map data just isn't going to be good enough to stop vehicles hitting anything.

      And GPS or map data just isn't going to be good enough to stop vehicles hitting everything.

      ...In all likelihood ... especially with the IT project karma our most recent series of governments have had inflicted....

  5. TRT Silver badge

    Surely...

    Connected,

    Human-supervised and

    Autonomous

    Vehicular

    Systems?

    We could do with a map of that.

    1. caffeine addict

      Re: Surely...

      CHAVSW?

      Anyway, E-CAVE? That's so 2000...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Joke

        Re: Surely...

        Yes, they need to make it a Cyber E-Cave. Much more modern.

        1. Duffy Moon

          Re: Surely...

          "Yes, they need to make it a Cyber E-Cave. Much more modern."

          Now, with added blockchain.

          1. caffeine addict

            Re: Surely...

            BlokCave

  6. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "a valuable contribution to us achieving our bold ambitions."

    Actually completing a government IT project is already a very bold ambition.

    Let's not mention on time, to spec and within budget. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: "a valuable contribution to us achieving our bold ambitions."

      "Actually completing a government IT project"

      Mapping's never completed. It's a process, not a project.

  7. not.known@this.address
    Coat

    CAVs??

    I wish to be first to welcome our Giant Robot Overlords - mine's the one with the "I was an Emperor Driver before Pontious was a Pilot" and "Wipe your feet when you step on a tank" patches... (since the gaming geeks seem to have deserted El Reg, it behoves me to quote from the internet's oracle of everything [E&OE], "CAV or Combat Assault Vehicle is a miniatures wargame by Reaper Miniatures.")

    Also, doesn't 'autonomous' suggest it shouldn't need to be connected while working, or am I missing something?

  8. davemcwish

    User Case pt 94

    Arterial road, by name not designation, changed it's contraflow overnight recently from the westbound to eastbound carriageway. I'm guessing that the AV would just follow the correct traffic or would it get confused wit potentially incorrect mapping?

    Additionally I'm guessing OS bean counters are working out how to provide daily electronic mapping updates and to appropriately monetize.

    1. ArrZarr Silver badge

      Re: User Case pt 94

      One would assume that the lane guidance system would be used for keeping the car on the road while the map would handle the route.

      The other way around would be entertaining, though.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Back in the late 1970s (80/90s??) there was a story of someone who had digitised a map of the UK to support his bird watching hobby. IIRC a Government agency found it a useful starting point for something they were tasked with doing.

  10. spold Silver badge

    ...where should UK's driverless cars go?

    Wherever we damn well like, human!

    OK so by traditional folklore (jokes) if they are female driverless cars with a map they are fucked (no not like that vicar).

  11. Roland6 Silver badge

    £750,000 ... Over the project's four-year life...

    Wow! So at best that's two research jobs at the OS the government are funding, at worst, it will cover some of the computing costs...

    Whilst we can't complain about the OS trying to make the most out of this additional funding, it does make you wonder whether those in government really want the project to deliver anything more than a set of powerpoint slides...

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