Formal Verification of Intersection Safety for Automated Driving

We build on our recent work on formalization of responsibility-sensitive safety (RSS) and present the first formal framework that enables mathematical proofs of the safety of control strategies in intersection scenarios. Intersection scenarios are challenging due to the complex interaction between vehicles; to cope with it, we extend the program logic dFHL in the previous work and introduce a novel formalism of hybrid control flow graphs on which our algorithm can automatically discover an RSS condition that ensures safety. An RSS condition thus discovered is experimentally evaluated; we observe that it is safe (as our safety proof says) and is not overly conservative.Comment: To appear in ITSC 2023. With appendices. 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Approach to Maintain a Safe State of an Automated Vehicle in Case of Unsafe Desired Behavior

For automated driving, higher levels of automation pose new challenges in terms of safety. In this paper, we develop a generic behavior safety framework that maintains a safe vehicle state even in case of system failures. It is applicable to different configurations of automated driving system architectures. We verify the designed generic behavior safety framework by applying it to two different architectures from both projects PRORETA 5 and UNICARagil. The previously defined safety requirements are met with both applications, which indicates that the developed generic safety framework is also valid for other configurations of automated driving systems

Understanding interactions between autonomous vehicles and other road users: A literature review

This review draws on literature relating to the interactions of vehicles with other vehicles, interactions between vehicles and infrastructure, and interactions between autonomous vehicles and cyclists and autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. The available literature relating to autonomous vehicles interactions is currently limited and hence the review has considered issues which will be relevant to autonomous vehicles from reading and evaluating a broader but still relevant literature.The project is concerned primarily with autonomous vehicles within the urban environment and hence the greatest consideration has been given to interactions on typical urban roads, with specific consideration also being given to shared space. The central questions in relation to autonomous vehicles and other road users revolve around gap acceptance, overtaking behaviour, behaviour at road narrowings, the ability to detect and avoid cyclists taking paths through a junction which conflict with the autonomous vehicle’s path, and the ability of autonomous vehicles to sense and respond to human gestures. A long list of potential research questions has been developed, many of which are not realistically answerable by the Venturer project. However, the important research questions which might potentially be answered by the current project are offered as the basis for the more detailed consideration of the conduct of the interaction trial

Compositional Safety Rules for Inter-Triggering Hybrid Automata

Extended version of the conference paper with a supplementary appendix.In this paper, we present a compositional condition for ensuring safety of a collection of interacting systems modeled by inter-triggering hybrid automata (ITHA). ITHA is a modeling formalism for representing multi-agent systems in which each agent is governed by individual dynamics but can also interact with other agents through triggering actions. These triggering actions result in a jump/reset in the state of other agents according to a global resolution function. A sufficient condition for safety of the collection, inspired by responsibility-sensitive safety, is developed in two parts: self-safety relating to the individual dynamics, and responsibility relating to the triggering actions. The condition relies on having an over-approximation method for the resolution function. We further show how such over-approximations can be obtained and improved via communication. We use two examples, a job scheduling task on parallel processors and a highway driving example, throughout the paper to illustrate the concepts. Finally, we provide a comprehensive evaluation on how the proposed condition can be leveraged for several multi-agent control and supervision examples.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/166479/2/The_Inter_Triggering_Hybrid_Automaton.pdfSEL

Testing automated driving systems to calibrate drivers’ trust

Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) offer many potential benefits like improved safety, reduced traffic congestion and lower emissions. However, such benefits can only be realised if drivers trust and make use of such systems. The two challenges explored in this thesis are: 1) How to increase trust in ADSs? 2) How to identify the test scenarios to establish the true capabilities and limitations of ADSs? Firstly, drivers’ trust needs to be calibrated to the “appropriate” level to prevent misuse (due to over trust) or disuse (due to under trust) of the system. In this research, a method to calibrate drivers’ trust to the appropriate level has been created. This method involves providing knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of the ADSs to the driver. However, there is a need to establish the capabilities and limitations of the ADSs which form the knowledge to be imparted to the driver. Therefore, the next research contribution lies in the development of a novel method to establish the knowledge of capabilities and limitations of ADSs (used to calibrate trust) in a reliable manner. This knowledge can be created by testing ADSs. However, in literature, an unanswered research question remains: How to identify test scenarios which highlight the limitations of ADSs? In order to identify such test scenarios, a novel hazard based testing approach to establish the capabilities and limitations of ADSs is presented by extending STPA (a hazard identification method) to create test scenarios. To ensure reliability of the hazard classification (and of the knowledge), the author created a novel objective approach for risk classification by creating a rule-set for risk ratings. The contribution of this research lies in developing a method to increase trust in ADSs by creating reliable knowledge using hazard based testing approach which identifies how an ADS can fail

The End of Traffic and the Future of Access: A Roadmap to the New Transport Landscape

In most industrialized countries, car travel per person has peaked and the automobile regime is showing considering signs of instability. As cities across the globe venture to find the best ways to allow people to get around amidst technological and other changes, many forces are taking hold — all of which suggest a new transport landscape. Our roadmap describes why this landscape is taking shape and prescribes policies informed by contextual awareness, clear thinking, and flexibility

Ergonomics of intelligent vehicle braking systems

The present thesis examines the quantitative characteristics of driver braking and pedal operation and discusses the implications for the design of braking support systems for vehicles. After the current status of the relevant research is presented through a literature review, three different methods are employed to examine driver braking microscopically, supplemented by a fourth method challenging the potential to apply the results in an adaptive brake assist system. First, thirty drivers drove an instrumented vehicle for a day each. Pedal inputs were constantly monitored through force, position sensors and a video camera. Results suggested a range of normal braking inputs in terms of brake-pedal force, initial brake-pedal displacement and throttle-release (throttle-off) rate. The inter-personal and intra-personal variability on the main variables was also prominent. [Continues.

The social and ethical implications of autonomous vehicles

The current discourse surrounding vehicle autonomy focuses on the safe decision making of these machines, and the optimisation of traffic flow. It seems unquestionable that driverless vehicles will have far reaching effects on the way we live our lives yet to date, the social and ethical implications of driverless technologies on the user have largely been ignored. Using a multimethods approach incorporating speculative design and qualitative methods, this thesis explores the social and ethical implications of autonomous technologies on everyday life. Speculative design methods were used to question the autonomous vehicle concepts published by manufacturers. This identified user groups who appear unlikely to adopt such technologies, due to infrastructural and logistical constraints. HGV drivers emerged as a pioneering user group, who by law, had been using early driverless technologies since November 2015 with mixed success. The views of HGV drivers were explored through qualitative methods, using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that the industries developing autonomous technologies are all too often focused on a single user, the urban commuter. As a result, HGV drivers felt that they were being burdened with technology which they see as imposed on them and which is unhelpful or even detrimental to their lives and working practices. This is leading to increased resistance and a questioning of the future role of the professional driver. Building on the emerging field of data comics and using HGV drivers as a case study, this thesis proposes methods of visualising futures that could help designers and academics to explore, challenge and influence how we want emergent technologies to shape our daily lives in the future. This thesis highlights that the trajectory of autonomous technology development is not towards the experience of the driver or user but instead, is focused on the pursuit of the advancement of technology