Peoples’ reactions to self-driving operating machine in Kongsberg

In the Norwegian Public Roads Administration's R&D program BEVEGELSE various measures are being tested to improve the operation and maintenance of the road network. One such measure is a self-driving operating machine that cleans the road surface. At Kongsberg, such an operating machine was tested in the pedestrian street in September 2020.Video recordings show that the machine stopped if there were road users, parked vans or other objects in its path. It reacted to a small degree or not at all to objects or people on the side or back. The machine mostly returned to its normal route after the objects had passed. We did not observe any dangerous situations. Field interviews show that the public perceives that the machine is safe, and they are generally positive that automatic operating machines are tested and put into use. The test in the pedestrian street in Kongsberg indicates that such self-driving operating machines will be able to operate without major problems in such areas.