AN INTRODUCTION TO

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

COMPILED BY HOWIE BAUM

 Autonomous Vehicles Defined

• A vehicle that get from one point to

another point, without human
interaction.

• To achieve this, they have to use a

number of well placed sensors that
detect and continuously observe the
location and movement of other
vehicles, people, and traffic lights, etc.
• AV (Autonomous Vehicle) TECHNOLOGIES VS. MANUAL
OPERATIONS

• Human perception and reaction time: 1.5 Sec.

• AV reaction perception time: 0.1 Sec. using forward,

rearward and side sensors

• This capability can reduce the “safe spacing” between

vehicles by 50%.

5
 AV Technology Expected Impacts on the
Transportation System

• AV Technology Projected Impacts may include:

• Increases in highway capacity by ~ 100%

• Increases in expressway travel speeds by >20%

• Significant reductions in accidents and injuries

• Measurable reductions in future capital improvement needs and being

able to allow for higher levels of travel demand
6
 Drawbacks
• Although there are people who want the technology in their cars, it can cost:

• $2,000 on average for safety-related tech (not automation)

• $10,000 for the “Cruise” autonomous system in the Audi S4s.

• Poor performance in adverse weather conditions

• Who is to blame in case of an accident ?

• The car manufacturer?

• The programmer?

• The driver?
Ethical Considerations
“Human drivers may be forgiven for making an instinctive but
nonetheless bad split-second decision, such as swerving into incoming
traffic rather than the other way into a field. But programmers and
designers of automated cars don’t have that luxury, since they do have
the time to get it right and therefore bear more responsibility for bad
outcomes.”
- Patrick Lin, The Atlantic
 The Lidar System
Features:
• Vertical and horizontal setup of the system
possible

• Visual image acquisition with a fully integrated

NIKON Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR)
camera.

• 3D mode of the VZ scanner with continuous

rotation of the scanning head for highly efficient
mobile data acquisition.

• 360 degree static scanning.

• Mainly used by Google Inc. for detecting the

surroundings of their test vehicles.
 Features:
The “Cruise” company  Cameras and Radars to map out surroundings(including
System other vehicles)

 Used mainly for highway scenarios.

 Steering wheel motor mounted to steering column.

 Adaptive speed control.

 Collision avoidance

 RP-1 sensors
(The Cruise company sells the Cruise RP-1 sensor
system which is essentially a 'package' that needs
integration within cars in order to bring in the self-
driving mechanism that Google's Driverless Cars
incorporate.)

 Will be made in the future for other vehicles.

 Apples and Oranges

Lidar System: Cruise System:

• $70,000 system • $10,000 system (installed)
• Can be used in basically anywhere. • Mainly for highway scenarios
• Design is very bulky and heavy • Design is small and lightweight
• Fully autonomous • Not fully autonomous

Intelligent vehicles cannot achieve human levels of performance until

machine vision systems achieve human levels of performance
(James Albus, 2009)
WHAT DOES THE WORD, ALGORITHM MEAN?

A problem-solving procedure, algorithm, is commonly used now for the set of

rules a machine (and especially a computer) follows to achieve a particular
goal.

It does not always apply to computer-mediated activity, however. The term may as
accurately be used of the steps followed in making a pizza or solving a Rubik’s Cube as
for computer-powered data analysis.
 AN ALGORITHM FOR PLAYING TIC TAC TOE

The following algorithm will allow you to always deny your opponent
victory or at least end the game in a tie:

 Win - If you have two in a row, you can place a third to get three in a row.

 Block - If the opponent has two in a row, you must play the third to block
the opponent.

 Fork – create an opportunity where you have two threats to win (two non-
blocked lines of 2).

 Blocking an opponent's fork - If there is a configuration where the

opponent can fork, you must block that fork.

 Center - You play the center if open.

 Opposite corner - If the opponent is in the corner, you play the opposite
corner.

 Empty corner - You play in a corner square.

 Empty side - You play in a middle square on any of the 4 sides.

 TYPES OF ALGORITHMS NEEDED FOR AUTONOMOUS
The combination of: VEHICLES
• 3-D imaging with multiple 1064 nm (nanometer) lasers.
• Edge-Detection algorithm
• Motion-Detection algorithm
• Tracking algorithm
LIDAR COMPUTERIZED IMAGES OF THE ROAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=tiwVMrTLUWg
The Scale of the Problem
Safety
• 35,092 highway deaths in 20151 Data Sources:
• 6.3 million crashes in 20151 1DOT HS 812 318, Traffic

• A leading cause of death for ages 1-442 Safety Facts, National

Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (August
2016)
210 Leading Causes of
Mobility3 Death by Age Group,
• 6.9 billion hours of travel delay United States – 2014,
Centers for Disease Control
• $160 billion of urban congestion and Prevention
32015 Urban Mobility

Scorecard, Texas A&M

Transportation Institute
Environment3 and INRIX (August 2015)
• 3.1 billion gallons of wasted fuel
• 60 billion lbs of additional CO2
The Opportunity
 What are Autonomous Vehicles?
• AVs combine sensor and map
data and based on machine
learning (i.e., “experience”),
can classify objects in their
surroundings and predict how
they are likely to behave, in
relation to:

• Other moving vehicles

• Pedestrians and cyclists

• Stationary objects (e.g.,

signs, trees, traffic cones)

• Based on what an AV can

“see” and what it predicts
nearby objects are likely to
do, it can make decisions
about speed and steering
inputs
 Example Systems at Each Automation Level
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6592pKyQfyE

SAE Example Systems Driver Roles

Level
1 Adaptive Cruise Control OR Must drive other functions and
Lane Keeping Assistance monitor driving environment

2 Adaptive Cruise Control AND Lane Must monitor driving

Keeping Assistance environment (system nags
Traffic Jam Assist driver to try to ensure it)

3 Traffic Jam Pilot May read a book, text, or web

Automated parking surf, but be prepared to
Highway Autopilot intervene when needed

4 Closed campus driverless shuttle May sleep, and system can

Valet parking in garage revert to minimum risk
‘Fully automated’ in certain conditions condition if needed

5 Automated taxi No driver needed

Car-share repositioning system

Source: California PATH

*SAE stands for the Society of Automotive Engineering.
 What are Automated Vehicles?
• Automated Vehicles (AVs) fit into the
SAE classifications 2 or 3 and are
vehicles in which at least one element of V2V, V2I, V2X Applications
vehicle control (e.g., steering, speed
control) occurs without direct driver
input.
• AVs work by gathering information from
a suite of sensors.

• These sensors may include:

• Cameras
• Radar
• Light detection and ranging (LiDAR)
• Ultrasonic
Long-range radar
• Infrared light Lidar
Camera
Short-/medium-range radar
Ultrasound/ultra-short-range radar
DSRC
• AVs may combine sensor data with other
inputs, including detailed map data and
V2V/V2I inputs. V2V is information
from Vehicle to Vehicle. V2I is
Vehicle to Infrastructure
(surroundings)
Automated vehicles...on a road near you?
Here Today In Testing Someday(?)

Level Level Level Level Level

1 2 3 4 5
Connectivity Enhances Automated Vehicle Benefits
Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-
infrastructure (V2I) communications can enhance
the safety and efficiency of AVs by providing
greater situational awareness and efficiency.

What is a Connected Vehicle?

1. An equipped vehicle sends basic safety

messages (BSMs), transmitted 10 times per
second

2. Other nearby vehicles and roadside equipment

receive the messages
What is it?
• Dedicated Short Range Communications (Wi-Fi
adapted for moving vehicles)
3. Drivers receive warnings and information to • FCC 5.9 GHz spectrum allocation
avoid potential crashes and improve mobility
 Connected vehicles includes…
Drivers/Operators

Infrastructure
Vehicles and

Image Source: Thinkstock

Image Source: Thinkstock
Fleets

Image Source: Thinkstock

Image Source: Thinkstock

Image Source: Thinkstock

Image Source: Thinkstock

Wireless Devices
 Vehicle Data
Infrastructure Messages
latitude, longitude, time, heading
Signal Phase and Timing,
angle, speed, lateral acceleration,
Fog Ahead
longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate,
Train Coming
throttle position, brake status,
Drive 35 mph
steering angle, headlight status, wiper
50 Parking Spaces
status, external temperature, turn
Available
signal status, vehicle length, vehicle
width, vehicle mass, bumper height
Curve Speed Warning
Curve Speed Warning • Target crashes approaching horizontal
Alerts the driver if current speed is curves on segments or interchange
too fast for an approaching curve ramps that are speed-related
• Alert cars and trucks they are entering
a curve at too high a speed to
negotiate it safely
• Improve:
• Reduction in truck rollover and in
road departure crashes
 Red Light Violation Warning
Red Light Violation Warning • Target crashes that result from signal
Issues warning to the driver if he/she violations
is about to run a red light • Wireless exchange of critical safety and
operational data
• Reduce the frequency and severity of
safety-related incidents
• Improves:
• Significant reduction in collisions, injuries,
and fatalities at intersections
• Non-recurring congestion resulting from
incidents is reduced
 Eco-Signal Operations Overview
Use connected vehicle technologies to:
reduce idling, number of stops, unnecessary
Combined Modeling of Applications:
accelerations/decelerations, and improve traffic
Resulted in a 9.6% reduction in fuel
flow to decrease fuel consumption and emissions.
consumption.

Roadside
Equipment (RSE) Unit
Traffic Signal Controller

Automated Longitudinal Control using V2V

Communications

Source: USDOT, July 2013

Mobility and the Environment

Photo source: Thinkstock

Photo source: Thinkstock

Impacts of AVs
 Easing Public Apprehensions
• How many more lives per year must be saved for the public to embrace a
driverless revolution?

• Manufacturers will need to be upfront with the details of the decision-making

systems piloting the vehicles.

• Will there be override capabilities?

• Delayed Feedback Problem: There will be a significant period of time before

we’ve collected enough data to determine the effectiveness of a driverless
initiative.
 Terminology – Different words that all mean
Autonomous driving:
• Automated (only for classifications 2 and 3)

• Autonomous

• Connected

• Self-Driving

• Driverless

• Automated Driving System (ADS)

THIS IS MR. BEAN DRIVING HIS CAR WITH A MOP BUT IT’S NOT AUTONOMOUS,
NOR IS THE PHONE BOOTH. IT IS MY FIRST MOBILE PHONE !!
UBER WILL GIVE FREE RIDES FOR ITS SELF-DRIVING CARS DEBUT

Several tests have been done in the past few months with Uber’s self-driving cars and now it is ready
to roll out on the streets and get its first passengers. It will offer free rides for customers, in Pittsburgh
who will request their autonomous Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles from the users’ smartphones.

However, the first autonomous Uber trips will have a person in the driver’s seat with their fingertips on
the wheel as required by law. That person won’t be alone as well, as he will have a company
representative beside him in the front passenger seat to take notes on a laptop.

Regardless, the ride is free. The public test drive of Uber’s XC90 that will happen is just a taste of what
lies ahead. Only a few cars will be available for this new system, but Uber has already signed a contract
with Volvo, to have 100 vehicles by the end of the year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NodzOaLJENo
 Institutional Grand Challenges

• Adapting public policy and laws for connected and ultimately

autonomous vehicles

• Assessing and managing system risks

• Establishing new tort liability and insurance systems

• Commercial vehicle operations

in the autonomous vehicle era
This is a diagram showing all of the factors to consider for Autonomous vehicles in the areas of
Parking Spaces (blue), Street space (green), Commuter space (dark red), and Delivery space
(lighter red)
 CADILLAC SUPER CRUISE !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=_rxW68ADldI
Self driving cars will be connected through a variety of communications systems now under
development that ultimately will become part of the new 5G Phone Network.

Most road transportation today is using wireless communications, both for its operation as well as
offering connectivity, entertainment and information services to “passengers”.

These vehicles will be using what best will be offered in terms of 4 wireless communications
systems:

 Manufacturers are already experimenting a variety of solutions (under the label V2V – Vehicle to
Vehicle and V2I - Vehicle to Infrastructure) that eventually will merge under the new 5G
phone network label.

 V2P stands for vehicle to Pedestrian and V2N stands for Vehicle to Network.
Factors that May Delay the Acceptance and Use of Self-Driving Cars
Article written by Lou Frenzel | Jan 09, 2019

From lack of confidence in safety to job loss, there are some main questions that continue to swirl around,
and ultimately hinder, the autonomous vehicle’s commercial progress.

A recent Axios survey indicates that only about 66% of Americans said they feel unsafe around AVs. 80%
of seniors fear AVs.

An earlier AAA survey identified that 73% of Americans said they’re afraid to ride in an AV and 63% said
they felt that the road was unsafe with when sharing the road with AVs.

 What if the regulations, insurance, etc. of AVs are so strict that adoption will not be in the volume
expected?
 What if cities limit the use of AVs to specific areas or roads?
 Will AV taxis really be viable? Will you ride in one?
 Will the benefits of AV trucks, including 18-wheelers, actually lower transportation costs and improve
safety?
 Are AV buses viable? Would you let your kids or Grandkids ride in an AV school bus?
 What is the economic impact on all those millions of truck, taxi, and bus drivers who lose
their jobs to AVs?
 Will the expected initial real-world AV price of over $100,000 seriously limit the sales of AVs?
 POD ZERO AUTONOMOUS CARS WILL MAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
OUT OF ADVERTISEMENTS

“Pod Zero represents the next generation of pod and features different drivetrain, steering systems,
and a new striking interior that is dominated by video screens that can play adverts, information
videos, or just become neutral to showcase the view from the outside,” David Keene, CEO of RDM
Group, told the Coventry Telegraph.

The new pods come with room for two, four, and eight passengers. RDM Group develops cars for a
“Low-Speed Autonomous Transport System (or L-SATS).” While the low maximum speed keeps the
pods from being useful on city streets, RDM Group lists airports, theme parks, shopping centers,
college campuses, and smart cities as ideal locations.
 NURO & KROGER DEPLOY SELF-DRIVING CARS FOR
GROCERY DELIVERIES IN ARIZONA
Self-driving, electric vehicle startup Nuro – founded by two ex-google engineers – not only revealed
to the world their R1 prototype in january 2018 but also announced a partnership with Kroger, the
largest supermarket chain in the US.

The idea was simple: the driverless pods, which feature two storage compartments that, obviously,
open automatically, would transport local goods such as groceries, dry cleaning and even pizza
orders. starting on august 16th 2018, the collaboration is piloting autonomous deliveries of groceries
in Scottsdale, Arizona.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKXbacNQGI8
WAYMO - It’s 2018, and Waymo is doing it live. Two months after the Alphabet (the parent
company of Google) self-driving car spinoff announced it would start running a truly driver-free
service in Phoenix this year (as in, cars romping about with no one at the wheel), the company
now unveils how it will do it: with the help of thousands more Chrysler Pacifica hybrids.

The vehicles, built by Fiat Chrysler in Canada, will eventually make their way to the cities where
Waymo is currently testing driverless tech. Waymo already uses 600 of the minivans to test its
driverless software.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8R148hFxPw
AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS !! IF YOU LIVE in Southern California and you’ve ordered one of those fancy new
smart refrigerators in the past few weeks, it may have hitched a ride to you on a robo-truck.

Since early October, autonomous trucks built and operated by the startup Embark have been hauling
Frigidaire refrigerators 650 miles along the I-10 freeway, from a warehouse in El Paso, Texas, to a distribution
center in Palm Springs, California. A human driver rides in the cab to monitor the computer chauffeur for
now.

“This is the first time someone has demonstrated this end-to-end," Embark CEO Alex Rodrigues says. "It
showcases the way that we see self-driving playing into the logistics industry.”

Embark is one of many companies that believe semi-s, not personal cars, are the smartest use of
autonomous technology, or at least the best way to get it onto the road ASAP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=48&v=3yPMxV11KaA
Major players like Volvo and Daimler are working on their own robo-truckers.

So is Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Waymo (the company formerly known as Google’s self-driving car effort) is thinking about putting
its tech to use in big rigs.
VERA: VOLVO’S AUTONOMOUS ELECTRIC VEHICLE OPTIMIZES DELIVERY

Meet Vera: an autonomous electric vehicle from Volvo that is controlled and monitored from the cloud and provides a safer,
cleaner mode of transportation. These vehicles can locate their position within centimeters and analyze what happens with
other road users.

Vera doesn’t make a whole lot of noise. It is equipped with sensors, radars, and cameras for maximum safety and efficiency.
The video explains what this exciting idea is all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=116&v=2Gc1zz5bl8I
MERCEDES-BENZ FT2025 IS NEW DAIMLER TRUCKS FLAGSHIP

-- The vast majority of S-Class-level active safety and automated driving tech is all-new to the long-haul truck
segment.

Daimler Trucks is the top-selling medium and heavy truck supplier worldwide, so these ideas will populate
everything from future Unimogs to the new Daimler India brand BharatBenz in the coming years.

The active safety is only half the battle: efficiency via aerodynamics is the other half of the coin. The truck and the
trailer show revolutionary improvements in aerodynamics. This innovative design is clearly the best the Daimler
Trucks and Mercedes-Benz teams could achieve versus the wind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u5WXd-kaSs
AUTONOMOUS TRUCK PLATOONING OR CONVOYING, USING ELECTRONIC
SIGNALS BETWEEN EACH ONE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpuwG4A56r0
CES (CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW) 2019: JOHN DEERE HIGHLIGHTS TRACTORS’ AUTONOMY

A John Deere combine is more at home among rows of corn than at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las
Vegas this week, but that didn’t stop Deere & Co. from bringing farm equipment to the technology confab.

The company had a booth at CES for the first time. It was dominated as much by the vehicle as it was by the
message that technologies like autonomous driving and highly precise GPS data play a vital role in today’s farm life.

“Finding qualified skilled labor in rural America is getting harder and harder, and farmers see autonomous driving as
a tool that helps them hire less skilled operators to work in the cab,” said Deanna Kovar, Deere’s director of
production and precision for agricultural marketing.

“We’re here to help folks understand how technology applies to agriculture”

https://www.youtube.c
https://www.youtube.com
om/watch?v=mYEHvu
/watch?v=iYpCEq48Nbw
Dq2Fs
 THE WORLDS FIRST SELF-DRIVING SEMI-TRUCK WAS LICENSED IN
NEVADA IN MAY, 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBVq_3DlsUY

Of course, you want to be sure the

sensors are working in the big Truck !!
INTERESTING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING PREDICTIONS

1) Most (the smart) major auto manufacturers have already designated money to start building
new plants that only build electric cars.

2) Auto repair shops will go away.

A gasoline engine has 20,000 individual parts. An electrical motor has 20. Electric cars are sold with
lifetime guarantees and are only repaired by dealers. It takes only 10 minutes to remove and
replace an electric motor.

3) Gas stations will go away.

4) Parking meters will be replaced by meters that dispense electricity. Companies will install
electrical recharging stations; in fact, they’ve already started. You can find them at select Dunkin'
Donuts locations.

5) Gasoline/oil companies will go away. Drilling for oil will stop. So say goodbye to OPEC!

6) A baby of today will only see personal cars in museums.

7) UBER is just a software tool, they don't own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in
the world! Ask any taxi driver if they saw that coming.
8) Autonomous cars: In 2018 the first self-driving cars are already here. In the next 2 years, the
entire industry will start to be disrupted.

9) You won't want to own a car anymore as you will call a car with your phone, it will show up at
your location and drive you to your destination.

10) You will not need to park it you will only pay for the driven distance and you can be productive
while driving.

11) The very young children of today will never get a driver's license and will never own a car.

12) This will change our cities, because we will need 90-95% fewer cars. We can transform former
parking spaces into parks

13) 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide including distracted or drunk
driving. We now have one accident every 60,000 miles; with autonomous driving that will drop to 1
accident in 6 million miles. That will save over a million lives worldwide each year.

14) Most traditional car companies will doubtless become bankrupt. Traditional car companies will
try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple,
Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels.
15) Right now Volvo won’t be making or installing anymore internal combustions engines in their
vehicles starting this year with the 2019 models, using all electric or hybrid only, with the intent of
phasing out hybrid models.

16) Insurance companies will have massive trouble because, without accidents, the costs will
become cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear.

17) Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will move farther
away to live in a more beautiful or affordable neighborhood.

18) Electric cars will become mainstream about 2030. Cities will be less noisy because all new cars
will run on electricity. Cities will have much cleaner air as well.

WELCOME TO TOMORROW – IT ACTUALLY ARRIVED A FEW YEARS AGO !

A LOOK INTO THE AUTONOMOUS FUTURE !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7pFnMNFwDc