From the Concept of Being “the Boss” to the Idea of Being “a Team”: The Adaptive Co-Pilot as the Enabler for a New Cooperative Framework

The “classical” SAE LoA for automated driving can present several drawbacks, and the SAE-L2 and SAE-L3, in particular, can lead to the so-called “irony of automation”, where the driver is substituted by the artificial system, but is still regarded as a “supervisor” or as a “fallback mechanism”. To overcome this problem, while taking advantage of the latest technology, we regard both human and machine as members of a unique team that share the driving task. Depending on the available resources (in terms of driver’s status, system state, and environment conditions) and considering that they are very dynamic, an adaptive assignment of authority for each member of the team is needed. This is achieved by designing a technology enabler, constituted by the intelligent and adaptive co-pilot. It comprises (1) a lateral shared controller based on NMPC, which applies the authority, (2) an arbitration module based on FIS, which calculates the authority, and (3) a visual HMI, as an enabler of trust in automation decisions and actions. The benefits of such a system are shown in this paper through a comparison of the shared control driving mode, with manual driving (as a baseline) and lane-keeping and lane-centering (as two commercial ADAS). Tests are performed in a use case where support for a distracted driver is given. Quantitative and qualitative results confirm the hypothesis that shared control offers the best balance between performance, safety, and comfort during the driving task.This research was supported by the ECSEL Joint-Undertaking,which funded the PRYSTINE project under the Grant 783190

Nonlinear Modeling and Control of Driving Interfaces and Continuum Robots for System Performance Gains

With the rise of (semi)autonomous vehicles and continuum robotics technology and applications, there has been an increasing interest in controller and haptic interface designs. The presence of nonlinearities in the vehicle dynamics is the main challenge in the selection of control algorithms for real-time regulation and tracking of (semi)autonomous vehicles. Moreover, control of continuum structures with infinite dimensions proves to be difficult due to their complex dynamics plus the soft and flexible nature of the manipulator body. The trajectory tracking and control of automobile and robotic systems requires control algorithms that can effectively deal with the nonlinearities of the system without the need for approximation, modeling uncertainties, and input disturbances. Control strategies based on a linearized model are often inadequate in meeting precise performance requirements. To cope with these challenges, one must consider nonlinear techniques. Nonlinear control systems provide tools and methodologies for enabling the design and realization of (semi)autonomous vehicle and continuum robots with extended specifications based on the operational mission profiles. This dissertation provides an insight into various nonlinear controllers developed for (semi)autonomous vehicles and continuum robots as a guideline for future applications in the automobile and soft robotics field. A comprehensive assessment of the approaches and control strategies, as well as insight into the future areas of research in this field, are presented.First, two vehicle haptic interfaces, including a robotic grip and a joystick, both of which are accompanied by nonlinear sliding mode control, have been developed and studied on a steer-by-wire platform integrated with a virtual reality driving environment. An operator-in-the-loop evaluation that included 30 human test subjects was used to investigate these haptic steering interfaces over a prescribed series of driving maneuvers through real time data logging and post-test questionnaires. A conventional steering wheel with a robust sliding mode controller was used for all the driving events for comparison. Test subjects operated these interfaces for a given track comprised of a double lane-change maneuver and a country road driving event. Subjective and objective results demonstrate that the driver’s experience can be enhanced up to 75.3% with a robotic steering input when compared to the traditional steering wheel during extreme maneuvers such as high-speed driving and sharp turn (e.g., hairpin turn) passing. Second, a cellphone-inspired portable human-machine-interface (HMI) that incorporated the directional control of the vehicle as well as the brake and throttle functionality into a single holistic device will be presented. A nonlinear adaptive control technique and an optimal control approach based on driver intent were also proposed to accompany the mechatronic system for combined longitudinal and lateral vehicle guidance. Assisting the disabled drivers by excluding extensive arm and leg movements ergonomically, the device has been tested in a driving simulator platform. Human test subjects evaluated the mechatronic system with various control configurations through obstacle avoidance and city road driving test, and a conventional set of steering wheel and pedals were also utilized for comparison. Subjective and objective results from the tests demonstrate that the mobile driving interface with the proposed control scheme can enhance the driver’s performance by up to 55.8% when compared to the traditional driving system during aggressive maneuvers. The system’s superior performance during certain vehicle maneuvers and approval received from the participants demonstrated its potential as an alternative driving adaptation for disabled drivers. Third, a novel strategy is designed for trajectory control of a multi-section continuum robot in three-dimensional space to achieve accurate orientation, curvature, and section length tracking. The formulation connects the continuum manipulator dynamic behavior to a virtual discrete-jointed robot whose degrees of freedom are directly mapped to those of a continuum robot section under the hypothesis of constant curvature. Based on this connection, a computed torque control architecture is developed for the virtual robot, for which inverse kinematics and dynamic equations are constructed and exploited, with appropriate transformations developed for implementation on the continuum robot. The control algorithm is validated in a realistic simulation and implemented on a six degree-of-freedom two-section OctArm continuum manipulator. Both simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method could manage simultaneous extension/contraction, bending, and torsion actions on multi-section continuum robots with decent tracking performance (e.g. steady state arc length and curvature tracking error of 3.3mm and 130mm-1, respectively). Last, semi-autonomous vehicles equipped with assistive control systems may experience degraded lateral behaviors when aggressive driver steering commands compete with high levels of autonomy. This challenge can be mitigated with effective operator intent recognition, which can configure automated systems in context-specific situations where the driver intends to perform a steering maneuver. In this article, an ensemble learning-based driver intent recognition strategy has been developed. A nonlinear model predictive control algorithm has been designed and implemented to generate haptic feedback for lateral vehicle guidance, assisting the drivers in accomplishing their intended action. To validate the framework, operator-in-the-loop testing with 30 human subjects was conducted on a steer-by-wire platform with a virtual reality driving environment. The roadway scenarios included lane change, obstacle avoidance, intersection turns, and highway exit. The automated system with learning-based driver intent recognition was compared to both the automated system with a finite state machine-based driver intent estimator and the automated system without any driver intent prediction for all driving events. Test results demonstrate that semi-autonomous vehicle performance can be enhanced by up to 74.1% with a learning-based intent predictor. The proposed holistic framework that integrates human intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and vehicle control can help solve the driver-system conflict problem leading to safer vehicle operations

Cdc14-regulated midzone assembly controls anaphase B

Spindle elongation in anaphase of mitosis is a cell cycle–regulated process that requires coordination between polymerization, cross-linking, and sliding of microtubules (MTs). Proteins that assemble at the spindle midzone may be important for this process. In this study, we show that Ase1 and the separase–Slk19 complex drive midzone assembly in yeast. Whereas the conserved MT-bundling protein Ase1 establishes a midzone, separase–Slk19 is required to focus and center midzone components. An important step leading to spindle midzone assembly is the dephosphorylation of Ase1 by the protein phosphatase Cdc14 at the beginning of anaphase. Failure to dephosphorylate Ase1 delocalizes midzone proteins and delays the second, slower phase of anaphase B. In contrast, in cells expressing nonphosphorylated Ase1, anaphase spindle extension is faster, and spindles frequently break. Cdc14 also controls the separase–Slk19 complex indirectly via the Aurora B kinase. Thus, Cdc14 regulates spindle midzone assembly and function directly through Ase1 and indirectly via the separase–Slk19 complex

Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) technology and safety study

Technology and safety related to the implementation of an Automated Mixed Traffic Vehicle (AMTV) system are discussed. System concepts and technology status were reviewed and areas where further development is needed are identified. Failure and hazard modes were also analyzed and methods for prevention were suggested. The results presented are intended as a guide for further efforts in AMTV system design and technology development for both near term and long term applications. The AMTV systems discussed include a low speed system, and a hybrid system consisting of low speed sections and high speed sections operating in a semi-guideway. The safety analysis identified hazards that may arise in a properly functioning AMTV system, as well as hardware failure modes. Safety related failure modes were emphasized. A risk assessment was performed in order to create a priority order and significant hazards and failure modes were summarized. Corrective measures were proposed for each hazard

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

Autonomous Vehicle Law Report and Recommendations to the ULC Based on Existing State AV Laws, the ULC\u27s Final Report, and Our Own Conclusions about What Constitutes a Complete Law

This report was created by the University of Washington’s Technology Law and Policy Clinic for the Uniform Law Commission (ULC). It was created at the request of Robert Lloyd, Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee and a member of the ULC’s subcommittee for autonomous vehicles. The report aims to do three things: (1) present the existing autonomous vehicle provisions on the books in California, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, and Washington, D.C.; (2) analyze these provisions, address related questions raised in the ULC’s Final Report, and make recommendations to the ULC; and (3) offer draft provision language to illustrate our recommendations. Our analysis sometimes favors select state provisions that we think get it right and sometimes creatively suggests provisions that no state has adopted. Professor Lloyd asked us to be forward-looking and creative in our thinking, particularly as it relates to provisions surrounding the deployment, sale, and consumer-operation of autonomous vehicles (relatively uncharted territory). This report reflects this charge, while attempting to firmly ground itself in the wisdom of existing state provisions and surrounding scholarship. The report starts by addressing definitional provisions, moves to provisions related to the testing and certification of autonomous vehicles, and concludes with provisions covering deployed and salable autonomous vehicles.https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/techclinic/1008/thumbnail.jp

A behavior driven approach for sampling rare event situations for autonomous vehicles

Performance evaluation of urban autonomous vehicles requires a realistic model of the behavior of other road users in the environment. Learning such models from data involves collecting naturalistic data of real-world human behavior. In many cases, acquisition of this data can be prohibitively expensive or intrusive. Additionally, the available data often contain only typical behaviors and exclude behaviors that are classified as rare events. To evaluate the performance of AV in such situations, we develop a model of traffic behavior based on the theory of bounded rationality. Based on the experiments performed on a large naturalistic driving data, we show that the developed model can be applied to estimate probability of rare events, as well as to generate new traffic situations

Toward a New Social Contract: A Tripartite Mixed-Methods Analysis of Social Sustainability at Three Land-Grant Universities

Increasingly, colleges and universities in the United States are adapting toward a model of behavior that incorporates issues of sustainability. This adaptation in universities and in society has implications on the organizational and nation-state level, the very core of which may serve to reshape the social contract between the two. In addition to supplying a strong counter-hegemonic argument that alters the competitive economic agenda-setting paradigm, this study serves as a tripartite comparative case study analysis of university adaptation toward social sustainability. By employing a social capital lens to understanding social sustainability in higher education, this study seeks to examine the relationship between higher education, sustainability, and the nation-state.The conceptual framework of this analysis will draw on Putnam\u27s concept of social capital, in the effort to understand the relationship between higher education, sustainability, and social capital as well as what a sustainability paradigm could mean in terms of a new social contract. The methodology of this study is exploratory and aimed at understanding university adaptation in three ways: first, elements of organization and administration aimed at advancing sustainability; second, teaching and research efforts that have been established within a sustainability frame; and third, community and outreach efforts that examines the role of the university in its local environment as well as the work toward public service. The specific methodology employed can be categorized as comparative case study (Yin, 2003). To validate findings, data is triangulated via a between-methods design and collected through: qualitative survey, contextual content analysis, and comparative discourse analysis respectively (Jaeger, 1988). The result is effectively a 3 x 3 mixed methods design so that each individual case study employs each of the three methodologies in order to provide a rich description of the social sustainability phenomena and offer data for comparative discourse analysis. Findings reveal three distinct strands amongst the case studies in the analysis of sustainability discourse. Results show the importance of the role of, organizational context, personal approach of the chief sustainability agent, and organizational saga in contributing to adaptation. In this way, sustainability approaches and the priority and university adaptation differed. These three approaches can be described as: an energy/operations/facilities perspective, a research and academic-focused perspective, and a humanistic-grassroots approach