A Fail-Operational Control Architecture Approach and Dead-Reckoning Strategy in Case of Positioning Failures

Presently, in the event of a failure in Automated Driving Systems, control architectures rely on hardware redundancies over software solutions to assure reliability or wait for human interaction in takeover requests to achieve a minimal risk condition. As user confidence and final acceptance of this novel technology are strongly related to enabling safe states, automated fall-back strategies must be assured as a response to failures while the system is performing a dynamic driving task. In this work, a fail-operational control architecture approach and dead-reckoning strategy in case of positioning failures are developed and presented. A fail-operational system is capable of detecting failures in the last available positioning source, warning the decision stage to set up a fall-back strategy and planning a new trajectory in real time. The surrounding objects and road borders are considered during the vehicle motion control after failure, to avoid collisions and lane-keeping purposes. A case study based on a realistic urban scenario is simulated for testing and system verification. It shows that the proposed approach always bears in mind both the passenger’s safety and comfort during the fall-back maneuvering execution.This research was funded by AutoDrive within the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL JU) in collaboration with the European Union’s H2020 Framework Programme (H2020/2014-2020) and National Authorities, under grant agreement number 737469

A Reconfigurable Framework for Vehicle Localization in Urban Areas

Accurate localization for autonomous vehicle operations is essential in dense urban areas. In order to ensure safety, positioning algorithms should implement fault detection and fallback strategies. While many strategies stop the vehicle once a failure is detected, in this work a new framework is proposed that includes an improved reconfiguration module to evaluate the failure scenario and offer alternative positioning strategies, allowing continued driving in degraded mode until a critical failure is detected. Furthermore, as many failures in sensors can be temporary, such as GPS signal interruption, the proposed approach allows the return to a non-fault state while resetting the alternative algorithms used in the temporary failure scenario. The proposed localization framework is validated in a series of experiments carried out in a simulation environment. Results demonstrate proper localization for the driving task even in the presence of sensor failure, only stopping the vehicle when a fully degraded state is achieved. Moreover, reconfiguration strategies have proven to consistently reset the accumulated drift of the alternative positioning algorithms, improving the overall performance and bounding the mean error.This research was funded by the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, grants GIU19/045 and PIF19/181, and the Government of the Basque Country by grants IT914-16, KK-2021/00123 and IT949-16

Trends in vehicle motion control for automated driving on public roads

In this paper, we describe how vehicle systems and the vehicle motion control are affected by automated driving on public roads. We describe the redundancy needed for a road vehicle to meet certain safety goals. The concept of system safety as well as system solutions to fault tolerant actuation of steering and braking and the associated fault tolerant power supply is described. Notably restriction of the operational domain in case of reduced capability of the driving automation system is discussed. Further we consider path tracking, state estimation of vehicle motion control required for automated driving as well as an example of a minimum risk manoeuver and redundant steering by means of differential braking. The steering by differential braking could offer heterogeneous or dissimilar redundancy that complements the redundancy of described fault tolerant steering systems for driving automation equipped vehicles. Finally, the important topic of verification of driving automation systems is addressed

Design and validation of decision and control systems in automated driving

xxvi, 148 p.En la última década ha surgido una tendencia creciente hacia la automatización de los vehículos, generando un cambio significativo en la movilidad, que afectará profundamente el modo de vida de las personas, la logística de mercancías y otros sectores dependientes del transporte. En el desarrollo de la conducción automatizada en entornos estructurados, la seguridad y el confort, como parte de las nuevas funcionalidades de la conducción, aún no se describen de forma estandarizada. Dado que los métodos de prueba utilizan cada vez más las técnicas de simulación, los desarrollos existentes deben adaptarse a este proceso. Por ejemplo, dado que las tecnologías de seguimiento de trayectorias son habilitadores esenciales, se deben aplicar verificaciones exhaustivas en aplicaciones relacionadas como el control de movimiento del vehículo y la estimación de parámetros. Además, las tecnologías en el vehículo deben ser lo suficientemente robustas para cumplir con los requisitos de seguridad, mejorando la redundancia y respaldar una operación a prueba de fallos. Considerando las premisas mencionadas, esta Tesis Doctoral tiene como objetivo el diseño y la implementación de un marco para lograr Sistemas de Conducción Automatizados (ADS) considerando aspectos cruciales, como la ejecución en tiempo real, la robustez, el rango operativo y el ajuste sencillo de parámetros. Para desarrollar las aportaciones relacionadas con este trabajo, se lleva a cabo un estudio del estado del arte actual en tecnologías de alta automatización de conducción. Luego, se propone un método de dos pasos que aborda la validación de ambos modelos de vehículos de simulación y ADS. Se introducen nuevas formulaciones predictivas basadas en modelos para mejorar la seguridad y el confort en el proceso de seguimiento de trayectorias. Por último, se evalúan escenarios de mal funcionamiento para mejorar la seguridad en entornos urbanos, proponiendo una estrategia alternativa de estimación de posicionamiento para minimizar las condiciones de riesgo

Design and validation of decision and control systems in automated driving

xxvi, 148 p.En la última década ha surgido una tendencia creciente hacia la automatización de los vehículos, generando un cambio significativo en la movilidad, que afectará profundamente el modo de vida de las personas, la logística de mercancías y otros sectores dependientes del transporte. En el desarrollo de la conducción automatizada en entornos estructurados, la seguridad y el confort, como parte de las nuevas funcionalidades de la conducción, aún no se describen de forma estandarizada. Dado que los métodos de prueba utilizan cada vez más las técnicas de simulación, los desarrollos existentes deben adaptarse a este proceso. Por ejemplo, dado que las tecnologías de seguimiento de trayectorias son habilitadores esenciales, se deben aplicar verificaciones exhaustivas en aplicaciones relacionadas como el control de movimiento del vehículo y la estimación de parámetros. Además, las tecnologías en el vehículo deben ser lo suficientemente robustas para cumplir con los requisitos de seguridad, mejorando la redundancia y respaldar una operación a prueba de fallos. Considerando las premisas mencionadas, esta Tesis Doctoral tiene como objetivo el diseño y la implementación de un marco para lograr Sistemas de Conducción Automatizados (ADS) considerando aspectos cruciales, como la ejecución en tiempo real, la robustez, el rango operativo y el ajuste sencillo de parámetros. Para desarrollar las aportaciones relacionadas con este trabajo, se lleva a cabo un estudio del estado del arte actual en tecnologías de alta automatización de conducción. Luego, se propone un método de dos pasos que aborda la validación de ambos modelos de vehículos de simulación y ADS. Se introducen nuevas formulaciones predictivas basadas en modelos para mejorar la seguridad y el confort en el proceso de seguimiento de trayectorias. Por último, se evalúan escenarios de mal funcionamiento para mejorar la seguridad en entornos urbanos, proponiendo una estrategia alternativa de estimación de posicionamiento para minimizar las condiciones de riesgo

A Portuguese Case Study

There is a high national dependency on Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Systems for several individuals, services and organisations that depend on this information on a daily basis. Those who rely on precise, accurate and continuous information need to have resilient systems in order to be highly efficient and reliable. A resilient structure and constantly available systems makes it easier to predict a threat or rapidly recover in a hazardous environment. One of these organisations is the Portuguese Navy, whose main purposes are to combat and maintain maritime safety. In combat, resilient PNT systems are needed for providing robustness in case of any threat or even a simple occasional system failure. In order to guarantee maritime safety, for example in Search and Rescue Missions, the need of PNT information is constant and indispensable for positioning control. The large diversity of PNT-dependent equipment, developed over the last two decades, is a valid showcase for the high GPS dependency that is seen nowadays – which is vulnerable to various factors like interference, jamming, spoofing and ionospheric conditions. The recent interest over integrated PNT system resolutions is related to the search for redundancy, accuracy, precision, availability, low cost, coverage, reliability and continuity. This study aimed to build a current PNT Portuguese picture based on Stakeholder Analysis and Interviews; assess the vulnerability of those who depend mainly on GPS for PNT information and, find out what the next steps should be in order to create a National PNT Strategy.Existe uma elevada dependência nacional em sistemas de Posição, Navegação e Tempo (PNT) por parte de diversos indivíduos, serviços e organizações que dependem desta informação no seu dia-a-dia. Todos os que dependem de informação precisa, exata e contínua, necessitam de ter sistemas resilientes para que sejam altamente eficientes e fiáveis. Uma estrutura resiliente e sistemas continuamente disponíveis facilitam a previsão de possíveis ameaças ou a expedita recuperação da funcionalidade, em ambientes hostis. Uma destas organizações é a Marinha Portuguesa cujas funções principais são o combate, a salvaguarda da vida humana no mar e a segurança marítima e da navegação. Para o combate, são necessários sistemas PNT, resilientes, que ofereçam robustez em caso de uma simples ameaça ou falha temporária dos sistemas. Por forma a ser possível cumprir a missão, a necessidade de ter informação PNT, fidedigna e atualizada, é constante e indispensável para o controlo preciso e exato da posição. Uma unidade naval, por forma a permanecer continuamente no mar, manter a sua prontidão, treinar a sua guarnição ou ser empenhada num cenário de guerra, necessita de saber, com confiança e sem erros, a sua posição e referência de tempo. A grande diversidade de sistemas dependentes de informação PNT, desenvolveu-se em larga escala nas últimas duas décadas e sustenta cada vez mais a alta dependência do GPS, que é vulnerável a diversas fontes de erro, tais como interferência, empastelamento, mistificação e condições ionosféricas. Atualmente, o elevado interesse na criação de sistemas PNT integrados está associado à procura da redundância, exatidão, precisão, disponibilidade, baixo custo, cobertura, fiabilidade e continuidade. Este estudo teve como objetivos construir o panorama atual, em Portugal, ao nível dos Sistemas PNT, baseando-se numa análise de Stakeholders e entrevistas; avaliar a vulnerabilidade de organizações e serviços que dependam exclusivamente do GPS como fonte de informação PNT; e propor um possível caminho para que seja possível criar uma Estratégia PNT Naciona

Prototypical implementation of location-aware services based on a middleware architecture for super-distributed RFID tag infrastructures

We provide evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of a middleware architecture for mobile devices (MoDs), which employs dense distributions of small computerized entities for providing fault-tolerant location-aware services. We do so by describing exemplary implementations based on radio frequency identification as an enabling technology. Firstly, we present prototypical implementations of the hardware abstraction layer and of selected core middleware services. The latter enable a MoD to store and retrieve data and position information in physical places in a fault-tolerant manner, and to identify places based on a location abstraction which is robust against failure of individual tags. Secondly, we investigate the feasibility of some higher-level services and applications by developing and evaluating prototypical systems for tracing and tracking, self-positioning, and collaborative map-makin

Simulation in Automated Guided Vehicle System Design

The intense global competition that manufacturing companies face today results in an increase of product variety and shorter product life cycles. One response to this threat is agile manufacturing concepts. This requires materials handling systems that are agile and capable of reconfiguration. As competition in the world marketplace becomes increasingly customer-driven, manufacturing environments must be highly reconfigurable and responsive to accommodate product and process changes, with rigid, static automation systems giving way to more flexible types. Automated Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS) have such capabilities and AGV functionality has been developed to improve flexibility and diminish the traditional disadvantages of AGV-systems. The AGV-system design is however a multi-faceted problem with a large number of design factors of which many are correlating and interdependent. Available methods and techniques exhibit problems in supporting the whole design process. A research review of the work reported on AGVS development in combination with simulation revealed that of 39 papers only four were industrially related. Most work was on the conceptual design phase, but little has been reported on the detailed simulation of AGVS. Semi-autonomous vehicles (SA V) are an innovative concept to overcome the problems of inflexible -systems and to improve materials handling functionality. The SA V concept introduces a higher degree of autonomy in industrial AGV -systems with the man-in-the-Ioop. The introduction of autonomy in industrial applications is approached by explicitly controlling the level of autonomy at different occasions. The SA V s are easy to program and easily reconfigurable regarding navigation systems and material handling equipment. Novel approaches to materials handling like the SA V -concept place new requirements on the AGVS development and the use of simulation as a part of the process. Traditional AGV -system simulation approaches do not fully meet these requirements and the improved functionality of AGVs is not used to its full power. There is a considerflble potential in shortening the AGV -system design-cycle, and thus the manufacturing system design-cycle, and still achieve more accurate solutions well suited for MRS tasks. Recent developments in simulation tools for manufacturing have improved production engineering development and the tools are being adopted more widely in industry. For the development of AGV -systems this has not fully been exploited. Previous research has focused on the conceptual part of the design process and many simulation approaches to AGV -system design lack in validity. In this thesis a methodology is proposed for the structured development of AGV -systems using simulation. Elements of this methodology address the development of novel functionality. The objective of the first research case of this research study was to identify factors for industrial AGV -system simulation. The second research case focuses on simulation in the design of Semi-autonomous vehicles, and the third case evaluates a simulation based design framework. This research study has advanced development by offering a framework for developing testing and evaluating AGV -systems, based on concurrent development using a virtual environment. The ability to exploit unique or novel features of AGVs based on a virtual environment improves the potential of AGV-systems considerably.University of Skovde. European Commission for funding the INCO/COPERNICUS Projec

Fully automated urban traffic system

The replacement of the driver with an automatic system which could perform the functions of guiding and routing a vehicle with a human's capability of responding to changing traffic demands was discussed. The problem was divided into four technological areas; guidance, routing, computing, and communications. It was determined that the latter three areas being developed independent of any need for fully automated urban traffic. A guidance system that would meet system requirements was not being developed but was technically feasible

Algorithms for Autonomous Personal Navigation Systems

Personal positioning is a challenging topic in the area of navigation mainly because of the cost, size and power consumption constraints imposed on the hardware. Satellite based positioning techniques can meet the requirements for many applications, but cover well only outdoor environment. Problems like weak satellite signals make the positioning impossible indoors. Urban canyons are also difficult areas for GNSS based navigation because of large multipath errors and satellite signal outages. Many applications require seamless positioning in all environments. However, there is no overall solution for navigation in GNSS denied environment, which is reliable, accurate, cost effective and quickly installed. Recently developed systems for indoor positioning often require pre-installed infrastructure. Another approach is to use fully autonomous navigation systems based on self-contained sensors and street or indoor maps. This thesis is concerned with autonomous personal navigation devices, which do not rely on the reception of external information, like satellite or terrestrial signals. The three proposed algorithms can be integrated into personal navigation systems. The first algorithm computes positioning for a map aided navigation system designed for land vehicles traveling on road network. The novelty is in application of particle filtering to vehicle navigation using road network database. The second algorithm is aimed at map aided vehicle navigation indoors. The novelty is in the method for correction of position and heading. The third algorithm computes solution for pedestrian navigation system, which is based on body mounted inertial measurement unit and models of human gait