1,235 research outputs found
From a Competition for Self-Driving Miniature Cars to a Standardized Experimental Platform: Concept, Models, Architecture, and Evaluation
Context: Competitions for self-driving cars facilitated the development and
research in the domain of autonomous vehicles towards potential solutions for
the future mobility.
Objective: Miniature vehicles can bridge the gap between simulation-based
evaluations of algorithms relying on simplified models, and those
time-consuming vehicle tests on real-scale proving grounds.
Method: This article combines findings from a systematic literature review,
an in-depth analysis of results and technical concepts from contestants in a
competition for self-driving miniature cars, and experiences of participating
in the 2013 competition for self-driving cars.
Results: A simulation-based development platform for real-scale vehicles has
been adapted to support the development of a self-driving miniature car.
Furthermore, a standardized platform was designed and realized to enable
research and experiments in the context of future mobility solutions.
Conclusion: A clear separation between algorithm conceptualization and
validation in a model-based simulation environment enabled efficient and
riskless experiments and validation. The design of a reusable, low-cost, and
energy-efficient hardware architecture utilizing a standardized
software/hardware interface enables experiments, which would otherwise require
resources like a large real-scale test track.Comment: 17 pages, 19 figues, 2 table
A realistic two-lane traffic model for highway traffic
A two-lane extension of a recently proposed cellular automaton model for
traffic flow is discussed. The analysis focuses on the reproduction of the lane
usage inversion and the density dependence of the number of lane changes. It is
shown that the single-lane dynamics can be extended to the two-lane case
without changing the basic properties of the model which are known to be in
good agreement with empirical single-vehicle data. Therefore it is possible to
reproduce various empirically observed two-lane phenomena, like the
synchronization of the lanes, without fine-tuning of the model parameters
Analysis of the Vehicle-Bicycles Interaction on Two-Lane Rural Roads Using a Driving Simulator Based on Field Data
[EN] The presence of cyclists on Spanish two-lane rural roads is common, so they have to interact with motor vehicles. Due to the speed differential and vulnerability of cyclists, overtaking is one of the most dangerous and frequent interactions. Therefore, a minimum distance of 1.5 m must be observed. The overtaking maneuver depends on road section and cyclist group distribution. Interaction between cyclists and vehicles has been characterized in the past but overtaking to cyclist groups has barely been studied. This study uses a driving simulator to analyze how the presence of cyclists and their group configuration affect traffic operation and safety on two-lane rural roads. A fixed driving simulator has been adapted to incorporate cyclists, using speed and lateral position obtained from field studies. Based on field data, a physical scenario and different traffic scenarios have been recreated, so volunteers can drive the simulator ¿ emulating a motor vehicle ¿ tracking their speed, lateral position, and other variables. These results can be compared to those observed for checking the validity of this methodology. The driving simulator offers some results which are difficult to obtain through other methodologies, enabling a better analysis of the phenomenon. By sorting different bicycle patterns and including several volunteers, the impact of bicycle pelotons on traffic performance and safety can be characterized. This will help in offering recommendations to integrate cyclists and motor vehicles in a safer way.This study was part of a research project titled Improvement of safety and operation of twolane rural roads with cyclists (Bike2Lane) (TRA 2016-8089-R) subsidized by Spanish
Ministry of Science and Innovation. In addition, the authors would like to thank the Road
Department of the Valencian Provincial Council, and General Directorate of Traffic of
Spain, for their cooperation in field data gathering.Dols Ruiz, JF.; Molina, J.; Moll Montaner, S.; López-Maldonado, G.; Camacho-Torregrosa, FJ.; García García, A. (2021). Analysis of the Vehicle-Bicycles Interaction on Two-Lane Rural Roads Using a Driving Simulator Based on Field Data. Universidad de Burgos. 1363-1376. https://doi.org/10.36443/97884184651231363137
Towards Social Autonomous Vehicles: Efficient Collision Avoidance Scheme Using Richardson's Arms Race Model
Background Road collisions and casualties pose a serious threat to commuters
around the globe. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) aim to make the use of technology
to reduce the road accidents. However, the most of research work in the context
of collision avoidance has been performed to address, separately, the rear end,
front end and lateral collisions in less congested and with high
inter-vehicular distances. Purpose The goal of this paper is to introduce the
concept of a social agent, which interact with other AVs in social manners like
humans are social having the capability of predicting intentions, i.e.
mentalizing and copying the actions of each other, i.e. mirroring. The proposed
social agent is based on a human-brain inspired mentalizing and mirroring
capabilities and has been modelled for collision detection and avoidance under
congested urban road traffic.
Method We designed our social agent having the capabilities of mentalizing
and mirroring and for this purpose we utilized Exploratory Agent Based Modeling
(EABM) level of Cognitive Agent Based Computing (CABC) framework proposed by
Niazi and Hussain.
Results Our simulation and practical experiments reveal that by embedding
Richardson's arms race model within AVs, collisions can be avoided while
travelling on congested urban roads in a flock like topologies. The performance
of the proposed social agent has been compared at two different levels.Comment: 48 pages, 21 figure
A Combined Simulation Approach to Evaluate Overtaking Behaviour on Two-Lane Two-Way Rural Roads
A significant percentage of road fatalities and injuries occur in the nonmotorway rural road network. One of the main causes of accidents on these roads is represented by overtaking, as, by its nature, it involves a risk of a head-on collision with oncoming traffic. The paper describes a combined simulation approach (driving simulator and traffic microsimulation) designed to examine the influence of different traffic conditions on passing manoeuvres on two-lane two-way rural roads. The main focus was the evaluation of the end of the passing manoeuvre because it reflects the risk of a head-on collision. In addition, the study aimed to assess the usefulness of the proposed combined approach in the ability to proactively and quickly diagnose traffic safety problems and consequently to evaluate appropriate solutions. The data collected with an interactive driving simulator on a sample of 54 participants have been used to adjust some input data of the traffic microsimulation software. A specific situation consisting of a stationary heavy vehicle obstructing the entire lane was repeated in both experiments. The analyses focused on time-to-collision (TTC), defined as the remaining gap between the passing vehicle and the oncoming vehicle at the end of the passing manoeuvre. The results showed that the type of manoeuvre performed is significantly influenced by the traffic condition. Furthermore, the manoeuvre is influenced by the gap between two successive vehicles in the opposite lanes. Focusing on the end of the manoeuvre, it was found how a traffic increase leads to a significant reduction of the TTC values. Furthermore, the comparative analysis conducted between the data recorded following the combined approach and those obtained using exclusively the input data of the microsimulation software supports the usefulness of the proposed methodology for conducting road safety analyses, especially in complex traffic environments where drivers' behaviour plays a decisive role
Making overtaking cyclists safer: Driver intention models in threat assessment and decision-making of advanced driver assistance system
Introduction: The number of cyclist fatalities makes up 3% of all fatalities globally and 7.8% in the European Union. Cars overtaking cyclists on rural roads are complex situations. Miscommunication and misunderstandings between road users may lead to crashes and severe injuries, particularly to cyclists, due to lack of protection. When making a car overtaking a cyclist safer, it is important to understand the interaction between road users and use in the development of an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). Methods: First, a literature review was carried out on driver and interaction modeling. A Unified Modeling Language (UML) framework was introduced to operationalize the interaction definition to be used in the development of ADAS. Second, the threat assessment and decision-making algorithm were developed that included the driver intention model. The counterfactual simulation was carried out on artificial crash data and field data to understand the intention-based ADAS\u27s performance and crash avoidance compared to a conventional system. The method focused on cars overtaking cyclists when an oncoming vehicle was present. Results: An operationalized definition of interaction was proposed to highlight the interaction between road users. The framework proposed uses UML diagrams to include interaction in the existing driver modeling approaches. The intention-based ADAS results showed that using the intention model, earlier warning or emergency braking intervention can be activated to avoid a potential rear-end collision with a cyclist without increasing more false activations than a conventional system. Conclusion: The approach used to integrate the driver intention model in developing an intention-based ADAS can improve the system\u27s effectiveness without compromising its acceptance. The intention-based ADAS has implications towards reducing worldwide road fatalities and in achieving sustainable development goals and car assessment program
An approach to simulation of autonomous vehicles
Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores (Major de Telecomunicações). Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200
Analysis of the vehicle-bicycles interaction on two-lane rural roads using a driving simulator based on field data
[EN] The presence of cyclists on Spanish two-lane rural roads is common, so they have to interact with motor vehicles.
Due to the speed differential and vulnerability of cyclists, overtaking is one of the most dangerous and frequent
interactions. Therefore, a minimum distance of 1.5 m must be observed. The overtaking manoeuvre depends on road
section and cyclist group distribution. Interaction between cyclists and vehicles has been characterized in the past
but overtaking to cyclist groups has barely been studied. This study uses a driving simulator to analyse how the
presence of cyclists and their group configuration affect traffic operation and safety on two-lane rural roads. A fixed
driving simulator has been adapted to incorporate cyclists, using speed and lateral position obtained from field
studies. Based on field data, a physical scenario and different traffic scenarios have been recreated, so volunteers can
drive the simulator ¿ emulating a motor vehicle ¿ tracking their speed, lateral position, and other variables. These
results can be compared to those observed for checking the validity of this methodology. The driving simulator
offers some results which are difficult to obtain through other methodologies, enabling a better analysis of the
phenomenon. By sorting different bicycle patterns and including several volunteers, the impact of bicycle pelotons
on traffic performance and safety can be characterized. This will help in offering recommendations to integrate
cyclists and motor vehicles in a safer way.This study was part of a research project entitled Improvement of safety and operation of two-lane rural roads with
cyclists (Bike2Lane) (TRA 2016-8089-R) subsidized by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. In addition, the
authors would like to thank the Road Department of the Valencian Provincial Council, and General Directorate of
Traffic of Spain, for their cooperation in field data gathering.Dols Ruiz, JF.; Molina, J.; Moll Montaner, S.; López-Maldonado, G.; Camacho-Torregrosa, FJ.; García García, A. (2021). Analysis of the vehicle-bicycles interaction on two-lane rural roads using a driving simulator based on field data. Transportation Research Procedia. (58):543-550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trpro.2021.11.0725435505
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