{"id":343,"date":"2024-01-25T00:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T00:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amber.bestgoed.com\/?post_type=case_study&p=343"},"modified":"2026-03-25T12:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:17:51","slug":"improving-self-driving-cars-by-understanding-the-urban-environments-of-people-across-the-e-u","status":"publish","type":"case_study","link":"https:\/\/bestgoed.com\/nl\/project\/improving-self-driving-cars-by-understanding-the-urban-environments-of-people-across-the-e-u\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelfrijdende auto's verbeteren door de stedelijke omgevingen van mensen in heel de E.U. te begrijpen."},"content":{"rendered":"

Context<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As self-driving cars (SDCs) are placed in the real world, they need to understand specific real-world environments. But what exactly do they need to understand \u2014 and what obstacles will they encounter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SDCs have been known to fail to recognise their surroundings in ways that baffle most humans: misidentifying kangaroos, traffic signs, and people with darker skin tones. In some cases these failures are hard to foresee. In many cases, however, helping data science teams better understand the environments in which their cars will actually drive can solve problems early \u2014 before resources are spent or damage is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring six cities across the E.U. \u2014 Berlin, Vilnius, Riga, Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Lisbon \u2014 we mapped a wide range of unique obstacles that self-driving cars may face in each. Below, we describe two of our findings in detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Findings: Lisbon<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cal\u00e7ada portuguesa and pedestrian motion trajectories<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Cal\u00e7ada portuguesa \u2014 Portuguese pavement \u2014 is a distinctive form of mosaic stonework found throughout Portugal. Beautiful and characteristic of Lisbon, it also creates significant difficulties for those walking on it. And because it affects how people walk, it directly impacts the pedestrian behaviour that self-driving cars must predict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three compounding issues define the problem. First, the stones become extremely slippery when wet \u2014 polished by years of foot traffic, they form ideal conditions for slipping in rain. Second, the pavement is difficult to maintain: the specialty craftsmen trained to lay it are increasingly rare, meaning holes and loose stones are common and widespread. Third, Lisbon is a hilly city with many narrow sidewalks, making all of the above more hazardous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These conditions produce three distinct pedestrian behaviours that SDCs must be prepared to handle: tripping, sliding and falling; walking on the road instead of the sidewalk (especially during rain); and kicking loose stones, which can become unpredictable projectiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, the impact of cal\u00e7ada portuguesa is easy to miss during development and testing. Holes are not everywhere, rain is seasonal, and narrow sidewalks are not universal. Direct observation of the resulting behaviours is unlikely unless one actively looks for them \u2014 and pedestrian accidents in these contexts are severely under-reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommendations for Lisbon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n