● This is an Elektor Publication. Elektor is the media brand of Elektor International Media B.V.
PO Box 11, NL-6114-ZG Susteren, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 46 4389444
● All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form, including photocopying, or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication, without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licencing Agency Ltd., 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1P 9HE. Applications for the copyright holder's permission to reproduce any part of the publication should be addressed to the publishers.
● Declaration
The authors and publisher have used their best efforts in ensuring the correctness of the information contained in this book. They do not assume, or hereby disclaim, any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in this book, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.
● British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
● ISBN 978-3-89576-692-3 Print
ISBN 978-3-89576-693-0 eBook
● © Copyright 2024 Elektor International Media www.elektor.com
Editor: Jan Buiting, MA
Prepress Production: D-Vision, Julian van den Berg
Printers: Ipskamp, Enschede, The Netherlands
Elektor is the world's leading source of essential technical information and electronics products for pro engineers, electronics designers, and the companies seeking to engage them. Each day, our international team develops and delivers high-quality content - via a variety of media channels (including magazines, video, digital media, and social media) in several languages - relating to electronics design and DIY electronics. www.elektormagazine.com
Finally, my sincere gratitude goes to all those who accompanied me on this professional journey, as well as to those who contributed to improving this book through their valuable insights, careful review, and help with editing. Their support and expertise have been instrumental in refining this work — their dedication is deeply appreciated.
Jacques Ehrlich
From then on, all manufacturers and equipment suppliers, in collaboration with researchers, embarked on a race toward autonomous vehicles, a race on a path rife with pitfalls and still far from reaching its destination today.
1.1 Purpose of this Book
The autonomous vehicle is a complex, constantly evolving object, and the goal of this book is to explore it from its various facets. For too long, vehicles have been viewed as isolated objects: isolated from other vehicles and isolated from the space in which they operate, namely, the infrastructure. This “isolationist” approach is now completely outdated. Modern vehicles equipped with ADAS and autonomous vehicles are becoming highly cooperative objects. In the future, they will continuously exchange information with each other and with the infrastructure through various types of media, forming part of the Intelligent Transport System. Therefore, throughout this book, we will now refer to them using the acronym CAV. However, this does not necessarily mean that the ability to communicate is always present. Indeed, this is an option for the future, as highlighted above.
The first part of this book (Chapters 2 to 6) begins with a presentation of Intelligent Transport Systems, of which the CAV is one component. After a brief history of CAVs, we show that the CAV is the result of a long evolution that started with ADAS. We then outline the classification of CAVs according to five levels of increasing complexity. Finally, this section concludes with a crucial chapter: the driving task as executed by the human driver and its equivalent by the vehicle’s automation.
Chapters 7 to 14 are dedicated to the key functions of the CAV. These functions form the heart of this work, as they are the foundations upon which ADAS and CAV rely. We will sequentially explore macroscopic and microscopic localization, obstacle detection, vehicle dynamics and the relationship between the tire and the roadway, cooperative awareness with its support, the Local Dynamic Map (LDM), driver monitoring, and finally, trajectory planning at three levels: strategic, tactical, and operational.
Why and how to communicate? Chapter 15 addresses this question. Communications are collectively referred to as V2X, which includes V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle), V2I (vehicle-toinfrastructure), and I2V (infrastructure-to-vehicle). They enable, on one hand, the extension of the vehicle’s environmental perception beyond the range of its sensors (cameras, radars, LiDAR) and, on the other, the exchange of information between vehicles and Traffic Management Centers (TMC). Standards are ready, and numerous pre-deployment experiments are underway, coordinated at the European level, with the objective of verifying interoperability between vehicles from various countries and evaluating the relevance of the use cases.
Chapter 16 is dedicated to infrastructure. The cooperation between automobile manufacturers and road operators has grown significantly over the last twenty years, thanks to the emergence of the concept of “probe vehicles”, which allow users to anticipate difficulties in their routes, while enabling road network operators to have real-time knowledge of the infrastructure’s condition. Indeed, for CAVs to operate safely, the infrastructure must provide a certain level of quality of service, which is described by a five-level index. This
index, along with other elements, is considered to define the operational domain (ODD) in which a CAV can operate at a given level of automation.
Chapters 17 to 19 address implementation, particularly embedded electronics. This relies on sensors, actuators, computers, and buses to ensure information exchange between computers. The arrangement of these different components constitutes the system architecture, which we first define abstractly (functional architecture) before mapping it onto a physical architecture.
A design methodology will be studied in Chapter 20 and illustrated by the case study of an adaptive speed limiter.
With the emergence of ADAS and CAVs, embedded electronics have become highly critical. Therefore, it must meet the functional safety requirements defined by the ISO 26262 standard. Thus, every project must undergo a Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) that estimates the risk level resulting from failure and defines the countermeasures required to ensure that this level is acceptable. This issue will be developed in Chapter 21 and illustrated by the above-mentioned case study.
In Chapter 22, we will dare to outline the future of CAVs, drawing inspiration from the roadmap established at the European level.
After reading these chapters, some readers may be tempted to build their own CAV. To meet this willing, we propose in Chapter 23 the construction of a 1:10-scale vehicle and test track. This is an ambitious project for which we will provide proposals for realization, but which will likely require collaboration, with the most passionate looking to embark on this adventure under the coordination of a “Champion” willing to take the lead on this project.
Finally, for readers who wish to delve deeper into certain aspects, several appendices are provided, along with numerous bibliographic references.
1.2 Target Audience
This book is a popular science work aimed at being accessible to all enthusiasts of electronics, computer science, automobiles, and innovation. Readers who find the chapters on communications, embedded architecture, and preliminary hazard analysis too technical can simply skip them. Meanwhile, geeks and tinkerers of all kinds can take on the challenge of building a 1:10 scale CAV with the help of the recommendations proposed in the last chapter of this book.
a) SIREDO Station (source: SFERIEL)
b) Magnetic loops for car detection (source: ECM)
Figure 2.1: Example of a traffic measurement station and magnetic loops (speed and flow).
This example illustrates the multitude of actors involved, as well as the critical role of communications as a medium for information exchange: between the SIREDO stations and management centers, from smartphones to operators, between operators themselves, and from operators to information dissemination equipment. In the field of ITS, we now refer to these systems as cooperative systems or C-ITS to describe all the entities within the system that can communicate with each other.
2.6 CAV in ITS
Just like manually driven vehicles such as personal vehicles, trucks, buses, etc., the CAV is a component of ITS that contributes to the delivery of mobility services. There are many variations, including personal vehicles, robots-taxis, shuttles, buses and trucks. As we will discuss later in this book, these are highly cooperative entities, as the onboard automation in CAV, just like a human driver, requires information from the outside environment — information that their own sensors cannot always provide. Connectivity to the ITS system is, therefore, more than necessary.
2.7 Harmonization and Framework Architecture for ITS
The question of harmonization is a crucial issue for the development of ITS. The need to define a framework for integrating services from different stakeholders quickly became apparent. This involves addressing both interoperability and the reusability of resources deployed in the systems. Put simply, the goal is to ensure that, at the very least, systems are compatible and shareable across an entire continent — be it Europe, Asia, or America — for use in various applications. This has led many countries to develop framework architectures (ACTIF in France [4], KAREN in Europe [5], ARC-IT in the USA [6], and similar initiatives in Japan, among others).
Thus, the framework architecture is a “general schematic of ITS“ (Figure 2.2) which shows the overall structure of the system, including its components, their relationships,
Chapter 3 • A Brief History of Autonomous Vehicles
3.1 The Autonomous Car: An Old Story
The CAV is not a recent concept. In 1977, a robotics laboratory in Tsukuba, Japan, proposed a prototype of an automated driving vehicle on a dedicated circuit. This was followed in 1986 by the ALV (Autonomous Land Vehicle) developed at Carnegie Mellon [7], as well as other prototypes within large projects such as PROMOTHEUS (1987) in Europe and in the USA, the National Automated Highway System Consortium (NAHSC) program, culminating in an iconic demonstration in San Diego in 1997 [9].
After that, research continued across all five continents through numerous research programs involving both industry and academic laboratories. The goal was not so much to deliver a marketable product but to solve key challenges related to road environment perception, scene analysis, decision-making, and route planning (including trajectory control).
These projects were less about meeting a societal or citizen need and more about addressing and attempting to resolve certain technological barriers, with outcomes benefiting both to CAV and to ADAS.
3.2 A Chronicle Marked by Ups and Downs
Thus, the emergence of CAVs is not the result of a revolution, but rather of a slow evolution, the fruit of extensive work on driving assistance systems, telecommunications, and partially automated driving. However, it must be acknowledged that the arrival of CAVs marks a break in mobility practices and will certainly induce new behaviors among their users, a break further accentuated by a new enthusiasm for “soft” modes: bicycles, scooters, rollerblades, and other Segways. All these modes of transport will need to coexist in urban environments, which poses new challenges for researchers, challenges that are less technological than human.
The history of the CAV, while far from over, has seen some ups and downs, with periods of significant progress and periods of stagnation. After a phase of enthusiasm, roughly between the 1980s and 2000, a form of dormancy followed, which can be explained by several factors:
• The difficulty in solving certain technological barriers and establishing formal proof of safe operation.
• The caution of certain manufacturers who address the lower and mid-range car market, where the CAV struggles to find its economic place.
• The concern of not displeasing a customer base who is still strongly attached to the pleasure of driving.
• The issue of responsibility in the event of accidents caused by system failures.
Nonetheless, around the world, manufacturers were not idle in research and development in the field of driving assistance, driven both by public authorities in their search for reduced road accidents and by drivers, whose evolving driving practices and behaviors gave rise to new needs in terms of comfort and safety. This highly productive period led to all the innovations that are now entering the market: adaptive speed limiters/cruise control, distance headways regulation systems, emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, curve overshooting prevention, parking assistance, and more.
In Europe, despite this dormancy, after 2000, numerous projects focused on ADAS and automation received significant funding from the European Commission as part of the 5th (1998-2002), 6th (2002-2006), 7th (2007-2013), and 8th (2014-2020) research and development framework programs3.
3.3 Evolution of Customers’ Expectations
While the public was not yet ready to accept being deprived of the task of driving, a significant shift in the values associated with the automobile took place during the period from 2000 to 2010. One of the driving factors behind these changes was the widespread implementation of automated control and sanctions4 along with road safety campaigns conducted by public authorities. By enforcing speed limits, the deployment of speed cameras contributed to shifting the value system associated with the automobile. The values of “power” and “speed” were gradually replaced by values such as comfort, environmental respect, and safety for oneself and loved ones. A new element of social differentiation replaced the amount of horsepower under the hood: high technology, which materialized in the form of driving assistance systems, which contributed to improving driving comfort and safety.
3.4 The “Google Car” Effect
This evolution of values favored the acceptance of the concept of the CAV by the public. In this new context, the Google Car, also known as Waymo [10], arrived at just the right moment (see the box below). It introduced a break, not so much on a technological level, but rather on a media level, by popularizing the concept of the CAV among the public.
Spectacular demonstrations showing blind individuals being transported with complete confidence left a strong impression. On a technical level, the Google Car was on par with the state-of-the-art prototypes that existed at the time: a vehicle exhibiting a “good” level of autonomy, but entirely unrealistic for industrialization due to the prohibitive cost of its sensors.
From that point, the industry, sensing the emergence of customer demand, actively entered a competition aimed not at producing a prototype, but at industrializing a vehicle.
3 The 8th Framework Programme for Research and Development is better known as Horizon 2020 or H2020.
4 This is the large-scale deployment of speed cameras that began in the early 2000’s.
Index
2
21448 174
26262 15, 127, 134, 159, 174, 189, 210, 222
A
AA 110, 234
Abbreviated Injury Scale
See AIS
ABS 27, 30, 71, 139, 143, 148, 149, 174, 234
ACC 29, 34, 61, 149, 188, 191, 234
actuator 126, 135, 136, 140, 142, 168, 201
Adaptative Cruise Control
See ACC
ADAS 13, 14, 15, 22, 24, 25, 30, 58, 64, 67, 92, 118, 119, 125, 139, 149, 150, 184, 209, 234
Advanced Driver Assistance System
See ADAS
AEB 149, 174, 191, 234
AIS 221, 222, 234
Anti-lock Braking System
See ABS
Anti-Slip Regulation
See ASR
ASIL 127, 134, 175, 176, 177, 181, 182, 222, 234
ASR 71, 234
Authorisation Authority
See AA
Automatic Emergency Braking
See AEB
Automotive Open System Architecture
See AUTOSAR
Automotive Safety Integrity Levels
See ASIL
AUTOSAR 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 234
B
Body 149
C
CAM 90, 108, 110, 112, 113, 120, 206, 234
camera 28, 29, 30, 44, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 67, 68, 82, 128, 174, 178, 199, 204
CAN 82, 128, 133, 134, 135, 138, 141, 143, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 194, 198, 201, 202, 207, 233, 234
Carrier Sense Multi Access
See CSMA
CC 28, 71, 188, 234
CDMA 145, 234
Chassis 149 C-ITS 19, 99, 111, 112, 114, 115, 116, 117, 232, 234
CNN 81, 82, 211, 213, 214, 215, 216, 234
Code Division Multiple Access
See CDMA
Controller Area Network
See CAN
Convolutional Neural Network
See CNN
Cooperative Awareness Message
See CAM
Cooperative ITS
See C-ITS
Cruise Control
See CC
CSMA 145, 146, 234
D
DATEX 114, 234
Decentralized Environmental Notification Message
See DENM
DENM 108, 113, 120, 206, 234
Drive by wire 234
E
EA 110, 234
ECU 125, 128, 130, 131, 133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 143, 144, 148, 151, 170, 171, 172, 195, 198, 199, 201, 207, 208, 234
EES 176, 221, 222, 234
Electronic Control Unit
See ECU
Electronic Stability Control
See ESC
Enrolment Authority
See EA
Equivalent Energy Speed
See EES
ESC 27, 199, 201, 234
ETSI 90, 92, 107, 108, 109, 111, 116, 231, 232, 234
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
See ETSI
F
FAA 166, 167, 168, 234
FCD 114, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124, 234
FDA 166, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173, 178, 179, 234
Flexray 146, 150
Floating Car Data
See FCD
Functional Analysis Architecture
See FAA
Functional Design Architecture
See FDA
fusion 18, 51, 53, 58, 65, 66, 67, 68, 101, 168, 217, 230
G
Global Navigation Satellite System
See GNSS
Global Positioning System
See GPS
GNSS 31, 44, 45, 46, 47, 89, 128, 145, 149, 169, 171, 234
GPS 234
H
Hardware Design Architecture
See HDA
HDA 170, 173, 234
I
I2V 14, 20, 40, 84, 89, 90, 101, 104, 116, 122, 128, 186, 187, 188, 234
IMU 54, 234
Inertial Measurement Unit
See IMU
Infrastructure Support level for Automated Driving
See ISAD
Infrastructure to Vehicle Communication
See I2V
Intelligent Transportation System
See ITS
International Organization for Standardization
See ISO
ISAD 122, 123, 124, 234
ISO 15, 127, 134, 146, 159, 174, 189, 210, 222, 234
ITS 16, 17, 18, 19, 45, 90, 92, 93, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 228, 231, 232, 234
J
J3016 32, 33, 35
L
LaaS 190, 234
Lane Departure Warning
See LDW
Lane Keeping Assist
See LKA
LDM 14, 49, 90, 91, 92, 93, 108, 112, 122, 124, 168, 178, 179, 231, 234
LDW 28, 30, 52, 188, 191, 234
learning 41, 44, 51, 77, 81, 82, 86, 193, 206, 207, 211, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 224, 231
LIDAR 14, 40, 51, 53, 58, 59, 64, 87, 88, 234
Linear Quadratic Regulator 74, 235
Line Detection and Ranging
See LIDAR
LKA 28, 30, 52, 149, 174, 188, 191, 234
Local Dynamic Map
See LDM
Logistic as a Service
See LaaS
LQR 69, 74, 235
M
MaaS 190, 209, 223, 224, 235 mapping 15, 48, 57, 88, 109, 123, 137, 154, 173, 186, 188, 207, 231
Minimal Risk Maneuver
See MRM
Mobility as a Service
See MaaS
Model Predictive Control 74, 230, 235
MPC 69, 74, 235
MRM 44, 97, 98, 127, 188, 235
O
ODB 128, 235
ODD 15, 122, 123, 124, 184, 186, 187, 188, 235
OEM 139, 235
On-Board Diagnostics 235
Operational Domain Design
See ODD
operational level 52, 75, 186, 205
Original Equipment Manufacturers
See OEM
OSEK 141, 144, 235
P
Park Assist 29, 58, 235
Powertrain 149
PRM 77, 79, 231, 235
Probabilistic Roadmap
See PRM
R
radar 29, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 87, 93, 128, 229
Radio Data System
See RDS
Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree
See RRT
RDS 100, 149, 235
RDS-TMC 235
Real Time Operating System
See RTOS
Recommended Itinerary Message
See RIM
Region of Interest. ROI; ROI; ROI; ROI
RIM 235
Roadside Unit
See RSU
ROI 53, 54, 56, 235
RRT 76, 77, 79, 235
RSU 90, 101, 104, 110, 114, 235
RTOS 144, 235
S
Safety of the Intended Functionality
See SOTIF
sensor 44, 51, 53, 59, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 88, 101, 126, 129, 130, 131, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 142, 168, 174, 192, 199, 201, 203, 204
Signal Phase and Timing
See SPAT
Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
See SLAM
SIREDO 18, 19, 119, 228, 235
SL 28, 188, 235
SLAM 87, 88, 89, 235
Sliding Mode Control
See SMC
SMC 69, 74, 235
SOTIF 174, 217, 235
SPAT 114, 235
Speed Limiter
See SL strategic level 84
T
tactical level 69, 75, 78
TCS 71, 235
TDMA 145, 146, 235
Tier 1 139, 140, 143
Tier 2 139, 140, 144
Time Division Multiple Access
See TDMA
TMC 14, 99, 100, 103, 104, 114, 122, 149, 235
topology 114, 129, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153
Traction Control System
See TCS
Traffic Message Channel
See RDS-TMC
Trafic Message Channel
See TMC V
V2I 14, 20, 40, 76, 89, 90, 101, 104, 105, 116, 122, 186, 187, 188, 235
V2V 14, 20, 40, 76, 90, 101, 104, 105, 116, 128, 235
V2X 14, 20, 90, 91, 103, 105, 106, 107, 120, 123, 189, 194, 195, 224, 231, 232, 235
Vehicle to Infrastructure Communication
See V2I
Vehicle to Vehicle Communication
See V2V
WAVE 103, 235
Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments.
