connected/automated vehicles – issues for transportation research

Connected/Automated Vehicles – Issues for Transportation Research

AASHTO Research Advisory Committee and Transportation Research Board State Representatives Annual Meeting

July 23, 2014

Ellen Partridge, Chief Counsel

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)

2U.S. Department of TransportationITS Joint Program Office

Image Source: Thinkstock/USDOT

Outline

Overview

Summary of 2014 Automated Vehicle Symposium

Details on 10 Breakout Sessions at Symposium



Connected Vehicles

A connected vehicle system is based on wireless communication among vehicles of all types and the infrastructure.

The wireless communications technology could include:

5.9 GHz DSRC

4G and older 3G cellular networks provide high-bandwidth data communications

Other wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, satellite, and HD radio may have roles to play



Automated Vehicles

Automated vehicles are those in which at least some aspect of a safety-critical control function (e.g., steering, throttle, or braking) occurs without direct driver input.



Connected and Automated Vehicles

The path toward connected vehicles will ultimately lead to automated vehicles.



NHTSA Automated Vehicle Levels



Key Areas of NHTSA’s Levels 2 to 4 Automation Research



State Legislative and Regulatory Action

http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/wiki/images/0/06/Statusmap14small.jpg

http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/wiki/images/0/06/Statusmap14small.jpg



Summary of Automated Vehicle Symposium

Trends

□ Limited access highway driving

□ Truck platooning

□ Low-speed driverless vehicles

Caveats

□ Enhanced realism about safety and transitioning between human and machine control

□ More attention to V2V and V2I

□ Need for digital mapping

□ Shared use and transportation as a service

□ Private/public sector roles still to be developed



Breakout Session #1

Evolutionary and Revolutionary Pathways to Automated Transit

and Shared Mobility



Breakout Session #1: Results

Automated vehicles will blur the lines between taxis, private vehicles, and public transit.

Urban congestion is a complex problem; automated single-occupant vehicles (SOVs) alone are not the solution

Transit is a segmented market; different solutions needed in different environments to create a full network

Level 2 on buses is near … Princeton Research Center at Monmouth; stay tuned

First mile / last mile are the opportunities for automated vehicles Harness automation to architect livable spaces



Breakout Session #2

Regional Planning and Modeling Implications of Driverless Cars




Automation Level 3: We have a pretty good handle on this; we just need to think and work through appropriate analysis.

Automation Level 4: This is where we need the most development work – both on understanding travel behavior changes and how to model it.

Collaboration with Policy Makers: Working closer with policy makers will be important to understand their questions.

Modeling Issues to Be Resolved: Car sharing effects on travel behavior; changes in household location; impacts to transit, walk and bike; etc.

Likely Increase in VMT: What are the policy implications for air quality, energy use, congestion, and land use?



Organize a scenario development and vetting process to identify various pathways to market adoption and their effects on travel behavior.

Conduct a synthesis of existing research on capacity and value of time implications of automated vehicles.

Conduct special surveys, focus groups, and interactive gaming experiments to better understand human adoption and use of these technologies.

Conduct a coordinated set of model runs in different geographic and modal contexts to understand the range of the magnitude of impacts.

Breakout Session #2: Next Steps



Breakout Session #3

Roadway Traffic Management and Operations with Automated Vehicles




Automated vehicles expected to increase traffic flow efficiency

□ Connected automation required

Vehicle as a sensor and traffic control actuator

Connectivity can bring early benefits; automation can leverage them

Traffic management context will change

□ Travel/logistic patterns, type of vehicles, parking, empty cars

Transition period is important

□ Mixed traffic, manual-automated transitions, managed lanes




Driverless vehicles will require new management approaches

□ Intersection control, platooning

□ Management of empty vehicles, parking

Dedicated lanes may accelerate deployment of driverless vehicles

□ Tracks in pavement, equity issues

There is a lack of suitable modeling and simulation tools to accommodate automated vehicles (all levels)

□ Data, calibration, control models, information flows, driver behavior

Traffic flow dynamics will fundamentally change



Breakout Session #4

Truck Automation




What are the challenges and opportunities for automated on-road commercial heavy vehicles? A sample:

Technology□ Interoperability

Policy□ Hours of Service

Human Factors□ Gaps and driver’s comfort



Breakout Session #5

Legal Accelerators and Brakes




“Lead” Mode within Legal and Regulatory Constraints□ Commercial Platoons

• Not really an automated driving system• State tailgating laws, anti-platooning

□ Low-speed• Controlled environments• Shared transportation

“Infotainment” as an accelerator□ Revenue Stream and Market Pull□ Potential Issues

• Distraction• Data privacy




Need for Uniform Laws□ Minimum Operating Laws and Regulations as an Accelerator□ Concerns Over Vehicle Regulations Stifling Innovation

Data Use and Misuse□ Opt-in Benefits as a Potential Accelerator□ Misuse Could Destroy Consumer Confidence

• Surveillance Society

Liability□ No consensus, but...explore ways to understand and manage risk and

uncertainty



Breakout Session #6

The State and Future Direction of Automated-Vehicle Human Factors




We already know a lot about how trained professionals interact with automation (e.g., pilots, process control).

Important differences exist between driving and other domains

□ Lower training

□ More variability in individual differences (multiple user groups—young, elderly, different skills)

□ Smaller tolerances for error.

This makes automation design for road vehicles more difficult.

Makes collaborative design a very hard problem!




Transfer of control

□ Mental models

□ Situation awareness

Misuse and improper use

□ Deliberately testing system boundaries

The role of driver monitoring to construct better collaboration between the driver and the system

Design cannot only focus on “worst case” scenarios

□ Context matters (familiarity, novelty)

□ Drivers will want input even at high levels of automation




More collaboration early in design cycle with human factors is recommended

□ Collect data early and quickly to avoid problems

□ Human factors domain has knowledge and methods that are useful throughout the design cycle, and informed by previous research

Need to be creative and conceptualize beyond the concept of adding systems to existing cars

□ Levels are flexible in the design space; they provide the starting point for fully considering how different systems will interact



Breakout Session #7

Near-Term Connected/Automated Technology Deployment

Opportunities




Technology

Researcher Perspective. Actions needed to realize benefits: 1) Connected vehicle market penetration and 2) Focus on near-term Level 1 applications – CACC, Speed Harmonization, Eco-Signal Operation

OEM and Supplier Perspective on Connectivity and Automation. Vehicle connectivity is not going to enable automated driving, but is going to make it better.

Deployment Challenges from USDOT Perspective. Aftermarket devices, spectrum sharing demands, communications congestion potential, other road users, and security

Operational Considerations from Roadway Authority Perspective (State DOT). Determine optimal balance of intelligence between vehicles and infrastructure; emphasize heavy vehicle applications as early adopters; and determine whether to start with mixed traffic or exclusive right-of-way




Early Deployment Roadway authority perspective. Highway authorities can advance system

technologies via investment/legislation/policy Identify value propositions for automated vehicles. Safety and efficiency

payoffs, policy supported by public benefit rationale, and increase in infrastructure capabilities

Role of public sector. 1) Establish facilities where we can learn more about the benefits of automation, and 2) sponsor and invest in early deployments

Be aware of consumer opinion and sensitivity to autonomous vehicles. □ Currently, consumers are wary of autonomous features but may not be fully

informed of the potential benefits□ Willingness to pay is low and there are control/trust issues. However,

safety can sell□ Level 5 is the current consumer level of understanding and expectation.

However, mobility benefits are achieved at Level 1 and further levels of automation primarily offer consumer convenience – need to bridge this gap.




Transition to Long-Term Deployment Promising near-term (next 10 years) deployment opportunities:

□ Level 1 applications for managed lanes and tollways□ Public transportation and freight applications□ Small scale community-based environments (retirement enclave,

campus) offer opportunity for higher level automation deployment (levels 4 and 5) due to lower risks

How can we best transition from early deployment to long-term deployment? □ Accommodate progression of technology but allow for consistency with

regard to performance – can standards minimize disruption and preserve benefits?

□ Allow for incremental improvement (e.g., following distances for CACC)



Breakout Session #8

Personal Vehicle Automation Commercialization



Breakout Session #8: Observations from Speakers

ABS took 17 years, and ACC took 14 years to 5% penetration

Disruption of insurance industry – liability migrates from the driver to the manufacturer

A large part of safety can be done with only ADAS

Automation is enabler for shared vehicle market

Lack of law breakers will decimate local muni budgets

90% of organ donations come from auto accidents

The car is just a computer on wheels; just another device between a consumer and the info/data



Level 3□ Business case not clear for

upgrade from Level 2□ Necessary to get to Levels 4, 5□ Problem of driver behavior not

as expected□ Skills degradation?□ Insufficient marginal benefit for

the cost?□ But important evolutionary step

to Levels 4 and 5□ Cool factor


Level 4□ Time savings, safety, mobility□ New drivers – old and young□ Enterprise value for commuting

employees□ Tax, insurance incentives? □ Shared vehicle support

Level 5□ New business models□ Increase in traffic volume□ Sustainable□ Alternative to rail and air□ Mobility accessibility



Breakout Session #8

“If I had listened to my customer, I would have developed a faster horse.”

– Henry Ford



Breakout Session #9

Technology Roadmap, Maturity and Performance




Focused on the “Holy Grail” – Level 4 vehicle that operates on any roads.

Agreed that the Artificial Intelligence Software and how to test it were the biggest challenges.

“You need a learning process to replace the human brain.”

Did feel that there were steps needed to get there, but multiple paths to achieve it.

Levels

0

1

2

3

4

VeryLimited

Any

-- Environment --



Federal, state, OEM, 3rd party testing: which entity does the certification; is there a regional preference?

How to deal with aging and re-certification?

Are we able to test/create data on all possible scenarios?

Model certification (aerospace level of testing/performance would be cost prohibitive).

An adversarial environment must be considered in the certification process: outline standard threats.

Emergency Situations:

□ Identified three degraded modes: fail safe, operational, soft

Breakout Session #9: Standardization & Certification + Degraded States



Breakout Session #10

Road Infrastructure Needs for Connected-Automated Vehicles



Breakout Session #10: Session Focus and Goals

Focus: To explore how transportation infrastructure interacts with and supports connected-automated vehicles

□ Digital infrastructure – mapping and data

□ Physical infrastructure – traffic control devices

Goals

□ Identify challenges and opportunities where potential infrastructure changes and innovations are needed

□ Discuss research needs and next steps to prepare infrastructure to be supportive of and compatible with connected-automated vehicles



States are collecting digital data to generate roadway basemaps

Opportunity to share data with digital mapping and automated vehicle developers

Could all states provide a common base level map as a starting point for high precision maps?

Varying data format and collection standards by state

Requirements for building maps for automated vehicles are unknown by states

Need additional discussion between developers and states if leveraging maps would be useful for deployment of automated vehicles

Breakout Session #10: Results – Digital Infrastructure



States are responsible for maintaining traffic control devices

Implementation of traffic control devices can vary state by state

Designed for human comprehension; multiple alternatives pose a greater challenge for automated vehicles

States asking what infrastructure improvements are necessary for automated vehicles; need more requirements for physical infrastructure from automated vehicle developers

Low cost changes could be implemented now; other changes can be factored into long-term planning

Need to develop more consistent standards

Breakout Session #10: Results – Physical Infrastructure



Hold workshops at the national and state level to gather requirements from developers of automated vehicles

Assess impacts of requirements on digital infrastructure data collection and maintenance of physical infrastructure

Develop recommendations and guidance to share across all states to accelerate deployment of automated vehicles


connected/automated vehicles – issues for transportation research

Documents

autonomous vehicle

connected vehicle capability

nhtsa automated vehicle

connected area

vehicle system

connected vehiclesa

safety applications

automated vehiclesthe