Development and experimental validation of high performance embedded intelligence and fail-operational urban surround perception solutions of the PRYSTINE project

Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) commend a substantial reduction of human-caused road accidents while simultaneously lowering emissions, mitigating congestion, decreasing energy consumption and increasing overall productivity. However, achieving higher SAE levels of driving automation and complying with ISO26262 C and D Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASILs) is a multi-disciplinary challenge that requires insights into safety-critical architectures, multi-modal perception and real-time control. This paper presents an assorted effort carried out in the European H2020 ECSEL project—PRYSTINE. In this paper, we (1) investigate Simplex, 1oo2d and hybrid fail-operational computing architectures, (2) devise a multi-modal perception system with fail-safety mechanisms, (3) present a passenger vehicle-based demonstrator for low-speed autonomy and (4) suggest a trust-based fusion approach validated on a heavy-duty truck.</p

Shared control strategies for automated vehicles

188 p.Los vehículos automatizados (AVs) han surgido como una solución tecnológica para compensar las deficiencias de la conducción manual. Sin embargo, esta tecnología aún no está lo suficientemente madura para reemplazar completamente al conductor, ya que esto plantea problemas técnicos, sociales y legales. Sin embargo, los accidentes siguen ocurriendo y se necesitan nuevas soluciones tecnológicas para mejorar la seguridad vial. En este contexto, el enfoque de control compartido, en el que el conductor permanece en el bucle de control y, junto con la automatización, forma un equipo bien coordinado que colabora continuamente en los niveles táctico y de control de la tarea de conducción, es una solución prometedora para mejorar el rendimiento de la conducción manual aprovechando los últimos avances en tecnología de conducción automatizada. Esta estrategia tiene como objetivo promover el desarrollo de sistemas de asistencia al conductor más avanzados y con mayor grade de cooperatición en comparación con los disponibles en los vehículos comerciales. En este sentido, los vehículos automatizados serán los supervisores que necesitan los conductores, y no al revés. La presente tesis aborda en profundidad el tema del control compartido en vehículos automatizados, tanto desde una perspectiva teórica como práctica. En primer lugar, se proporciona una revisión exhaustiva del estado del arte para brindar una descripción general de los conceptos y aplicaciones en los que los investigadores han estado trabajando durante lasúltimas dos décadas. Luego, se adopta un enfoque práctico mediante el desarrollo de un controlador para ayudar al conductor en el control lateral del vehículo. Este controlador y su sistema de toma de decisiones asociado (Módulo de Arbitraje) se integrarán en el marco general de conducción automatizada y se validarán en una plataforma de simulación con conductores reales. Finalmente, el controlador desarrollado se aplica a dos sistemas. El primero para asistir a un conductor distraído y el otro en la implementación de una función de seguridad para realizar maniobras de adelantamiento en carreteras de doble sentido. Al finalizar, se presentan las conclusiones más relevantes y las perspectivas de investigación futuras para el control compartido en la conducción automatizada

Efficient, sustainable and secure use of smart city resources

The rapid advancement and increased use of technology has introduced the concept of smart cities, driving cities around the world towards developing a wide variety of smart systems, solutions and services. While these smart components provide improvements to various city operations, from increased resource efficiency and sustainability to general quality of life enhancements, they also introduce many challenges that must be dealt with in order to ensure future success. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the necessary measures both current and future smart cities should take in order to use their resources in an efficient, sustainable and secure manner. This was primarily achieved through extensive theoretical research, using a wide variety of information sources, from various scientific publications to different web-based resources. In addition, a simulated model of a smart waste management system was designed in this thesis in order to aid the development of the Salo smart city project. Resource efficiency and sustainability are integral to successful smart city implementations, as they ensure that smart cities can continue to prosper and develop more and more advanced solutions and services in the future. Consequently, the importance of solutions such as smart energy, smart waste management and smart mobility will only continue to increase in the future. Moreover, smart cities must be prepared to deal with various challenges presented by the use of advanced technologies and smart systems - from security, privacy and service availability to people- and ethics-related challenges. In the final parts of the thesis, the aforementioned topics were discussed from the perspective of the Salo smart city project. The use of different security measures and cheaper smart solutions, such as the smart waste recycling centre designed in the thesis, were given as recommendations to guide Salo towards a more resource efficient, sustainable and secure future

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

Enhancing Acceptance and Trust in Automated Driving trough Virtual Experience on a Driving Simulator

As vehicle driving evolves from human-controlled to autonomous, human–machine interaction ensures intuitive usage as well as the feedback from vehicle occupants to the machine for optimising controls. The feedback also improves understanding of the user satisfaction with the system behaviour, which is crucial for determining user trust and, hence, the acceptance of the new functionalities that aim to improve mobility solutions and increase road safety. Trust and acceptance are potentially the crucial parameters for determining the success of autonomous driving deployment in wider society. Hence, there is a need to define appropriate and measurable parameters to be able to quantify trust and acceptance in a physically safe environment using dependable methods. This study seeks to support technical developments and data gathering with psychology to determine the degree to which humans trust automated driving functionalities. The primary aim is to define if the usage of an advanced driving simulator can improve consumer trust and acceptance of driving automation through tailor-made studies. We also seek to measure significant differences in responses from different demographic groups. The study employs tailor-made driving scenarios to gather feedback on trust, usability and user workload of 55 participants monitoring the vehicle behaviour and environment during the automated drive. Participants’ subjective ratings are gathered before and after the simulator session. Results show a significant increase in trust ensuing the exposure to the driving automation functionalities. We quantify this increase resulting from the usage of the driving simulator. Those less experienced with driving automation show a higher increase in trust and, therefore, profit more from the exercise. This appears to be linked to the demanded participant workload, as we establish a link between workload and trust. The findings provide a noteworthy contribution to quantifying the method of evaluating and ensuring user acceptance of driving automation. It is only through the increase of trust and consequent improvement of user acceptance that the introduction of the driving automation into wider society will be a guaranteed success

Research and innovation in connected and automated transport in Europe

Adequate research and innovation (R&I) is paramount for the seamless testing, adoption and integration of connected and automated transport. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of R&I initiatives in Europe in this field. The assessment follows the methodology developed by the European Commission’s Transport Research and Information Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS). The report critically addresses research by thematic area and technologies, highlighting recent developments and future needs.JRC.C.4-Sustainable Transpor

Advances in Automated Driving Systems

Electrification, automation of vehicle control, digitalization and new mobility are the mega-trends in automotive engineering, and they are strongly connected. While many demonstrations for highly automated vehicles have been made worldwide, many challenges remain in bringing automated vehicles to the market for private and commercial use. The main challenges are as follows: reliable machine perception; accepted standards for vehicle-type approval and homologation; verification and validation of the functional safety, especially at SAE level 3+ systems; legal and ethical implications; acceptance of vehicle automation by occupants and society; interaction between automated and human-controlled vehicles in mixed traffic; human–machine interaction and usability; manipulation, misuse and cyber-security; the system costs of hard- and software and development efforts. This Special Issue was prepared in the years 2021 and 2022 and includes 15 papers with original research related to recent advances in the aforementioned challenges. The topics of this Special Issue cover: Machine perception for SAE L3+ driving automation; Trajectory planning and decision-making in complex traffic situations; X-by-Wire system components; Verification and validation of SAE L3+ systems; Misuse, manipulation and cybersecurity; Human–machine interactions, driver monitoring and driver-intention recognition; Road infrastructure measures for the introduction of SAE L3+ systems; Solutions for interactions between human- and machine-controlled vehicles in mixed traffic

New functionalization - reinforcement strategies for cork plastics composites: opening a wide range of innovative applications for cork based products

Tese de doutoramento em Engenharia de MateriaisAdvances on forest-based composites, shows a growing trend in the use of lignocellulosic materials as filler and/or reinforcement in plastic composites. Cork-Polymer Composites (CPC) is one of the most promising fields in cork technology to produce new materials based on sustainable development. Cork combined with polymer matrices, has the prospective of lead to composite materials with better properties. In this context, new fields of application where cork cannot compete alone might be reached. The present thesis focuses on the investigation of engineering properties of the thermoplastic matrices, such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP), combined with cork trough melt based technologies, by taking advantage of their intrinsic properties to create cork-based composites. Towards to reach more bio-based composite materials, cork was combined with biodegradable aliphatic polyesters mainly, PolyhydroxyButyrate-co-HydroxyValerate (PHBV); Poly(L-Lactic Acid) (PLLA); Poly-ε- CaproLactone (PCL) and Starch-Poly-ε-CaproLactone (SPCL). Cork and its by-products obtained from finishing industrial operations and end-of-life products were compounded, promoting added-value to cork based composites. The process methods used to create CPC were either pultrusion or twin-screw extrusion processes. Whereas, compression moulding and injection moulding were used to obtain the final composite product. During this process, the compatibility and adhesion between the polar cork and the non-polar polymer is one of the key challenges. Reinforcement strategies show that the lignocellulosic–matrix compatibility was improved by (i) via the structure of matrix, by employing coupling agents (CA) based on maleic anhydride, (ii) the use of natural fibre, or by modifying the fibre surface (i.e. hybrid composites). Indeed, all of them lead to cork based composites with considerably better mechanical properties. In addition, the interfacial adhesion of cork-polymer was also improved either using suberin or lignin isolated from cork byproducts as bio-based coupling agents with significant benefits for the environment. The findings presented in this thesis show that the general properties of CPC materials reveals the required: (i) dimension stability with reduced water absorption, (ii) homogeneous distribution and dispersion of the cork particles in the polymer matrix, (iii) improved fire resistance to the matix, good thermal and acoustic insulation properties and (iv) an interesting range of mechanical properties. As for as bio-based composite materials, it was engineering a class of cork biocomposites more sustainable with acceptable in-service performance and tendency for rapid out-of-service biodegradation. Lignocellulosic materials such as natural fibres and cork also offer economic and environmental advantages over traditional inorganic reinforcements and fillers. The work described in this thesis brings new knowledge and contribute to a deeper understanding in the promising cork-polymer composites (CPC) materials field. Overall, the findings presented in this thesis make a significant contribution to better understand the CPC materials. Therefore, the combination of cork with polymeric matrices reveals to be a significant added-value to cork based materials, with high potential for a wide range of innovative applications.Avanços em compósitos de base florestal, mostram uma tendência de crescimento no uso de materiais lenhoccelulósicos como carga e/ou reforço em compósitos de plástico. O campo dos materiais compósitos cortiça-polímero (CPC) é dos mais promissores da tecnologia cortiça para produzir novos materiais com base no desenvolvimento sustentável. A cortiça combinada com matrizes poliméricas, apresenta o potencial de obter materiais compósitos com melhores propriedades. Neste contexto, novos campos de aplicação onde a cortiça não pode competir por si só podem ser alcançados. A presente tese centra-se na investigação das propriedades de engenharia das matrizes termoplásticas, como o polietileno de alta densidade (HDPE) e o polipropileno (PP), combinadas com a cortiça através de tecnologias baseadas na fusão, tirando proveito de suas propriedades intrínsecas, para criar compósitos à base de cortiça. No sentido de obter materiais compósitos de origem natural, a cortiça foi combinada com poliésteres alifáticos biodegradáveis principalmente, polihidroxibutirato-cohidroxivalerato (PHBV), Poli(L-ácido láctico) (PLLA), poli-ε-caprolactona (PCL) e Amido poli-ε- caprolactona (SPCL). A cortiça e os seus sub-produtos obtidos a partir de operações de acabamento industriais e produtos em fim de vida foram misturados, com o intuito de potenciar valor acrescentado aos diferentes compósitos com cortiça. Os métodos de processamento usados para criar CPC são processos de extrusão de duplo-fuso ou pultrusão. Tendo em consideração que a moldação por compressão e moldação por injecção foram usadas para obter o produto compósito final. Durante este processo, o grau de compatibilidade e de adesão entre a cortiça polar e o polímero não-polar é um dos principais desafios. Estratégias de reforço mostram que o grau de compatibilidade lenhocelulósico-matriz foi melhorado (i) através da estrutura de matriz, pelo emprego de agentes compatibilizandores (CA) com base no anidrido maleico, (ii) pela utilização de fibras naturais, ou modificando a superfície da fibra (isto é, compósitos híbridos). Na verdade, todos eles levam a compósitos de cortiça com consideravelmente melhores propriedades mecânicas. Além disso, a adesão interfacial da cortiçapolímero também foi melhorada quer utilizando suberina ou lenhina isolada a partir de sub-produtos da cortiça como agentes compatibilizantes de base florestal, com vantagens significativas para o ambiente. Os resultados apresentados nesta tese mostram que as propriedades gerais dos materiais CPC revelam a necessária: (i) a estabilidade dimensional com reduzida absorção de água, (ii) distribuição homogénea e dispersão das partículas de cortiça na matriz polimérica, (iii) melhorada resistência ao fogo da matriz, boas propriedades de isolamento térmico e acústico e (iv) e um conjunto interessante de propriedades mecânicas. Quanto aos materiais compósitos com bio-poliesters, foi desenvolvida uma classe de engenharia de biocompósitos de cortiça mais sustentáveis, com desempenho aceitável em serviço e tendência de rápida biodegradação fora-de-serviço. Materiais lenhocelulósicos, como as fibras naturais e a cortiça também oferecem vantagens económicas e ambientais sobre os materiais de reforço ou de cargas inorgânicas tradicionais. O trabalho descrito nesta tese traz novos conhecimentos e contribui para uma compreensão mais profunda no campo dos promissores materiais compósitos de cortiça -polímero (CPC). No geral, os resultados apresentados nesta tese contribuiem significativamente para uma melhor compreenção dos materiais CPC. Portanto, a combinação de cortiça com matrizes poliméricas revela ser uma mais-valia significativa para materiais com base na cortiça, com alto potencial para uma ampla gama de aplicações inovadoras

PRYSTINE - Technical Progress after Year 1

Among the actual trends that will affect society in the coming years, autonomous driving stands out as having the potential to disruptively change the automotive industry as we know it today. For this, fail-operational behavior is essential in the sense, plan, and act stages of the automation chain in order to handle safety-critical situations by its own, which currently is not reached with state-of-the-art approaches also due to missing reliable environment perception and sensor fusion. PRYSTINE will realize Fail-operational Urban Surround perceptION (FUSION) which is based on robust Radar and LiDAR sensor fusion and control functions in order to enable safe automated driving in urban and rural environments. In this paper, we detail the vision of the PRYSTINE project and we showcase the results achieved during the first year