Mississippi State Students Take Driverless Buses to Class
Credit: Photo Courtesy of Mississippi State UniversityThe Campus Autonomous Bus (C.A.B.) by Beep, Inc. on Mississippi State University’s Campus.
- Mississippi State University (MSU) unveiled two electric, autonomous buses by Beep Inc. that run a 2.4-mile campus loop from noon-8 p.m.
- Attendants are always on the buses and can take manual control of them when needed.
- MSU is a hub for autonomous vehicle research. It hosts the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), a department where students and researchers study off-road, industrial, and heavy-duty vehicle automation.
The bus Mitchell Keyes, a Mississippi State University (MSU) senior, takes from his apartment to the campus gym and back doesn’t have a steering wheel or even a driver.
The bus, named Campus Autonomous Bus (C.A.B.), is an initiative by autonomous mobility company Beep Inc. On Sept. 20, MSU unveiled two C.A.B.s — 10-passenger electric buses that run a 2.4-mile loop through campus.
The buses run from noon-8 p.m. in good weather conditions, and onboard Beep attendants always monitor and help guide the bus and assist with passenger safety.
Keyes, a meteorology major and senator in the MSU Student Association, told BestColleges that the first time he rode the bus, it was just him and the attendant onboard.
From his experience, Keyes said the bus does well on straight paths. But once turns come, the attendant takes more control and helps the bus take turns very slowly. The attendant also has to check for cars and adjust the route back.
“It’s automated, but because of safety — the company is big on safety, according to the attendant — they have a lot of human functions that have to be managed by the attendants. And so, from my experience, it was just weird in a way, but it was kind of surreal to be riding in a car with no steering wheel.”
MSU Executive Director of Transportation Jeremiah Dumas told BestColleges that attendants are onboard to help ensure students’ safety and to monitor vehicle behavior. The attendants also act as ambassadors, answering students’ questions, and they take control of the bus anytime if something enters the vehicle’s path.
Dumas said many students share similar apprehensions to Keyes’, but generally, the excitement has far outweighed the anxiousness. Keyes has seen many students use C.A.B. heading from Old Main, an academic building in the center of campus, and Sanderson Center, the university’s rec center.
“There’s so much that can go wrong because humans are the ultimate variable,” Keyes said. “So the fact that there’s human error that can be involved with the perfection of technology is a little bit, it always makes me skeptical, and it’s a little concerning. But overall, the company itself that runs it puts a lot of stock on safety.”
A 2019 study analyzed types of autonomous vehicle (AV) collisions, maneuvers, and errors compared to conventional vehicles in California from 2015-2017. The study said that autonomous vehicles have the potential to dramatically decrease several types of traffic accidents and reduce the human impact on traffic accidents.
According to the study, 64.2% of accidents with AVs were rear-end accidents, whereas the rear-end accident rate was much less (28.3%) with conventional vehicles.
However, in other types of accidents, the rates for AVs were lower than for conventional vehicles, findings show.
For example, broadside/T-bone accidents were much less common for AVs (5.7%) compared to conventional vehicles (25.8%), according to the study. And no pedestrian accidents at all were recorded with AVs, while conventional vehicles showed 16.3%.
Keyes said that MSU is a forward-thinking institution and a leader in autonomous vehicle research. He highlighted the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS), a department focused on autonomous mobility, which studies subjects, including:
- Deep learning
- Cybersecurity
- Off-road, industrial, and heavy-duty vehicle automation
Dumas said the buses were a natural fit since MSU is a hub for autonomous vehicle education and operates the city and campus public transit system.
“When you have a familiarity with the technology and the components of what it takes to make an autonomous vehicle or an autonomous drone, it really helps you understand where these people are coming from, why they want to test it, and why they want to test it with a research institution that is so forward thinking in this field of science,” Keyes said.
Dumas told BestColleges that changes to the new vehicle system are to be determined since the industry is evolving at warp speed. It’s hard to imagine where it will be in 3-5 years, but they’re open to any vehicle system that helps with safety and efficiency.
“My peers and counterparts that are in college aren’t exactly the most predictable and aren’t the best drivers,” Keyes said.
“We have a lot of drivers who got their licenses during a time of COVID where they could just take a test online or, in some states, take their test in the office, and then they wouldn’t have to even get in a car. So just that unpredictability produces a lot of skepticism in the college environment.”