Autonomous vehicles for micro-mobility

AbstractAutonomous vehicles have been envisioned for more than 100 years. One of the first suggestions was a front cover of Scientific America back in 1916. Today, it is possible to get cars that drive autonomously for extended distances. We are also starting to see micro-mobility solutions, such as the Nuro vehicles for pizza delivery. Building autonomous cars that can operate in urban environments with a diverse set of road-users is far from trivial. Early 2018 the Contextual Robotics Institute at UC San Diego launched an effort to build a full stack autonomous vehicle for micro-mobility. The motivations were diverse: i) development of a system for operation in an environment with many pedestrians, ii) design of a system that does not rely on dense maps (or HD-maps as they are sometimes named), iii) design strategies to build truly robust systems, and iv) a framework to educate next-generation engineers. In this paper, we present the research effort of design, prototyping, and evaluation of such a vehicle. From the evaluation, several research directions are explored to account for shortcomings. Lessons and issues for future work are additionally drawn from this work.

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Auction-Based Consensus of Autonomous Vehicles for Multi-Target Dynamic Task Allocation and Path Planning in an Unknown Obstacle Environment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11115057 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 5057

Author(s):

Wan-Yu Yu ◽

Xiao-Qiang Huang ◽

Hung-Yi Luo ◽

Von-Wun Soo ◽

Yung-Lung Lee

Keyword(s):

Path Planning ◽

Task Allocation ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Dynamic Task ◽

The Core ◽

Dynamic Task Allocation ◽

Vehicle Technology ◽

Future Work ◽

Complicated Task

The autonomous vehicle technology has recently been developed rapidly in a wide variety of applications. However, coordinating a team of autonomous vehicles to complete missions in an unknown and changing environment has been a challenging and complicated task. We modify the consensus-based auction algorithm (CBAA) so that it can dynamically reallocate tasks among autonomous vehicles that can flexibly find a path to reach multiple dynamic targets while avoiding unexpected obstacles and staying close as a group as possible simultaneously. We propose the core algorithms and simulate with many scenarios empirically to illustrate how the proposed framework works. Specifically, we show that how autonomous vehicles could reallocate the tasks among each other in finding dynamically changing paths while certain targets may appear and disappear during the movement mission. We also discuss some challenging problems as a future work.

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Pedestrians, Autonomous Vehicles, and Cities

Journal of Planning Education and Research ◽

10.1177/0739456x16675674 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 6-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 91

Author(s):

Adam Millard-Ball

Keyword(s):

Travel Behavior ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Urban Neighborhoods ◽

Urban Traffic ◽

Risk Averse ◽

Strategic Interactions ◽

Road Users ◽

Self Driving Cars ◽

Time Autonomous

Autonomous vehicles, popularly known as self-driving cars, have the potential to transform travel behavior. However, existing analyses have ignored strategic interactions with other road users. In this article, I use game theory to analyze the interactions between pedestrians and autonomous vehicles, with a focus on yielding at crosswalks. Because autonomous vehicles will be risk-averse, the model suggests that pedestrians will be able to behave with impunity, and autonomous vehicles may facilitate a shift toward pedestrian-oriented urban neighborhoods. At the same time, autonomous vehicle adoption may be hampered by their strategic disadvantage that slows them down in urban traffic.

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Assessment of Social Acceptance for Autonomous Vehicles in Southeastern Poland

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14185778 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (18) ◽

pp. 5778

Author(s):

Agnieszka Dudziak ◽

Monika Stoma ◽

Andrzej Kuranc ◽

Jacek Caban

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

New Technologies ◽

Consumer Preferences ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Automotive Market ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Autonomous Cars ◽

The Impact

New technologies reaching out for meeting the needs of an aging population in developed countries have given rise to the development and gradual implementation of the concept of an autonomous vehicle (AV) and have even made it a necessity and an important business paradigm. However, in parallel, there is a discussion about consumer preferences and the willingness to pay for new car technologies and intelligent vehicle options. The main aim of the study was to analyze the impact of selected factors on the perception of the future of autonomous cars by respondents from the area of Southeastern Poland in terms of a comparison with traditional cars, with particular emphasis on the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. The research presented in this study was conducted in 2019 among a group of 579 respondents. Data analysis made it possible to identify potential advantages and disadvantages of the concept of introducing autonomous cars. A positive result of the survey is that 68% of respondents stated that AV will be gradually introduced to our market, which confirms the high acceptance of this technology by Poles. The obtained research results may be valuable information for governmental and local authorities, but also for car manufacturers and their future users. It is an important issue in the area of shaping the strategy of actions concerning further directions of development on the automotive market.

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China will make rapid progress in autonomous vehicles

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db236495 ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Elderly Population ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

National Development ◽

Rapid Progress ◽

Dual Use ◽

Content Type ◽

Autonomous Cars ◽

Smart Cars ◽

The Military

Subject China's policies to develop the autonomous vehicle sector. Significance Chinese policymakers believe the size of their domestic market will give China’s vehicle makers the scale to lead the world in autonomous cars. The National Development and Reform Commission expects that 50% of new vehicles sold in China by 2020 will be ‘smart cars’, that is, with partial or fully autonomous functions. Impacts Policies do not explicitly favour fleet vehicles over private cars, but fleet vehicles are likely to lead adoption. Self-driving fleet services are a future way to provide mobility for a growing elderly population. Regardless of international concerns about protectionism, all levels of government will use preferential procurement to support the sector. China's civilian autonomous vehicle sector will benefit from dual-use technology developed by the military.

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Self-protective and self-sacrificing preferences of pedestrians and passengers in moral dilemmas involving autonomous vehicles

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0261673 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0261673

Author(s):

Maike M. Mayer ◽

Raoul Bell ◽

Axel Buchner

Keyword(s):

Social Desirability ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Critical Incidents ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Moral Dilemmas ◽

Road Users ◽

Course Of Action ◽

Moral Decisions ◽

Conflicting Interests ◽

Accident Scenarios

Upon the introduction of autonomous vehicles into daily traffic, it becomes increasingly likely that autonomous vehicles become involved in accident scenarios in which decisions have to be made about how to distribute harm among involved parties. In four experiments, participants made moral decisions from the perspective of a passenger, a pedestrian, or an observer. The results show that the preferred action of an autonomous vehicle strongly depends on perspective. Participants’ judgments reflect self-protective tendencies even when utilitarian motives clearly favor one of the available options. However, with an increasing number of lives at stake, utilitarian preferences increased. In a fifth experiment, we tested whether these results were tainted by social desirability but this was not the case. Overall, the results confirm that strong differences exist among passengers, pedestrians, and observers about the preferred course of action in critical incidents. It is therefore important that the actions of autonomous vehicles are not only oriented towards the needs of their passengers, but also take the interests of other road users into account. Even though utilitarian motives cannot fully reconcile the conflicting interests of passengers and pedestrians, there seem to be some moral preferences that a majority of the participants agree upon regardless of their perspective, including the utilitarian preference to save several other lives over one’s own.

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Witness of Things

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems ◽

10.1108/ijius-05-2018-0011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 72-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Serkan Ayvaz ◽

Salih Cemil Cetin

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Vehicular Networks ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Content Type ◽

Record Keeping ◽

Vehicle To Vehicle ◽

Autonomous Cars ◽

Vehicle To Infrastructure ◽

Governmental Institutions ◽

Self Driving Cars

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for autonomous cars to establish trusted parties by combining distributed ledgers and self-driving cars in the traffic to provide single version of the truth and thus build public trust. Design/methodology/approach The model, which the authors call Witness of Things, is based on keeping decision logs of autonomous vehicles in distributed ledgers through the use of vehicular networks and vehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure (or vice versa) communications. The model provides a single version of the truth and thus helps enable the autonomous vehicle industry, related organizations and governmental institutions to discover the true causes of road accidents and their consequences in investigations. Findings In this paper, the authors explored one of the potential effects of blockchain protocol on autonomous vehicles. The framework provides a solution for operating autonomous cars in an untrusted environment without needing a central authority. The model can also be generalized and applied to other intelligent unmanned systems. Originality/value This study proposes a blockchain protocol-based record-keeping model for autonomous cars to establish trusted parties in the traffic and protect single version of the truth.

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Virtual Simulations Environment Development for Autonomous Vehicles Interaction

Volume 2B: Advanced Manufacturing ◽

10.1115/imece2020-23362 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Mohsen Malayjerdi ◽

Vladimir Kuts ◽

Raivo Sell ◽

Tauno Otto ◽

Barış Cem Baykara

Keyword(s):

Virtual Environment ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Mapping Method ◽

Human Robot Interaction ◽

Industrial Robots ◽

Simulation Environment ◽

Road Users ◽

Virtual Simulations ◽

Road Testing

Abstract One of the primary verification criteria of the autonomous vehicle is safe interaction with other road users. Based on studies, real-road testing is not practical for safety validation due to its time and cost consuming. Therefore, simulating miles driven is the only feasible way to overcome this limitation. The primary goal of the related research project is to develop advanced techniques in the human-robot interaction (HRI) safety validation area by usage of immersive simulation technologies. Developing methods for the creation of the simulation environment will enable us to do experiments in a digital environment rather than real. The main aim of the paper is to develop an effective method of creating a virtual environment for performing simulations on industrial robots, mobile robots, and autonomous vehicles (AGV-s) from the safety perspective for humans. A mid-size drone was used for aerial imagery as the first step in creating a virtual environment. Then all the photos were processed in several steps to build the final 3D map. Next, this mapping method was used to create a high detail simulation environment for testing an autonomous shuttle. Developing efficient methods for mapping real environments and simulating their variables is crucial for the testing and development of control algorithms of autonomous vehicles.

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The Value of Autonomous Vehicles for Last-Mile Deliveries in Urban Environments

Management Science ◽

10.1287/mnsc.2020.3917 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Reed ◽

Ann Melissa Campbell ◽

Barrett W. Thomas

Keyword(s):

Operations Management ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Completion Time ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Optimal Solution ◽

Fixed Time ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Assisted Delivery ◽

Autonomous Case ◽

Number Of Customers

We demonstrate that autonomous-assisted delivery can yield significant improvements relative to today’s system in which a delivery person must park the vehicle before delivering packages. We model an autonomous vehicle that can drop off the delivery person at selected points in the city where the delivery person makes deliveries to the final addresses on foot. Then, the vehicle picks up the delivery person and travels to the next reloading point. In this way, the delivery person would never need to look for parking or walk back to a parking place. Based on the number of customers, driving speed of the vehicle, walking speed of the delivery person, and the time for loading packages, we characterize the optimal solution to the autonomous case on a solid rectangular grid of customers, showing the optimal solution can be found in polynomial time. To benchmark the completion time of the autonomous case, we introduce a traditional model for package delivery services that includes the time to search for parking. If the time to find parking is ignored, we show the introduction of an autonomous vehicle reduces the completion time of delivery to all customers by 0%–33%. When nonzero times to find parking are considered, the delivery person saves 30%–77% with higher values achieved for longer parking times, smaller capacities, and lower fixed time for loading packages. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.

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Pedestrians’ understanding of fully autonomous vehicles (FAV) intent to stop

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641465 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 1931-1932

Author(s):

Michal Hochman ◽

Tal Oron-Gilad

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Background Color ◽

Urban Road ◽

The Road ◽

Message Type ◽

On The Road ◽

Future Work ◽

Road Crossing ◽

Distance Conditions

This study explored pedestrians’ understanding of Fully Autonomous Vehicle (FAV) intention and what influences their decision to cross. Twenty participants saw fixed simulated urban road crossing scenes with a FAV present on the road. The scenes differed from one another in the FAV’s messages: the external Human-Machine Interfaces (e-HMI) background color, message type and modality, the FAV’s distance from the crossing place, and its size. Eye-tracking data and objective measurements were collected. Results revealed that pedestrians looked at the e-HMI before making their decision; however, they did not always make the decision according to the e-HMIs’ color, instructions (in advice messages), or intention (in status messages). Moreover, when they acted according to the e-HMI proposition, for certain distance conditions, they tended to hesitate before making the decision. Findings suggest that pedestrians’ decision making to cross depends on a combination of the e-HMI implementation and the car distance. Future work should explore the robustness of the findings in dynamic and more complex crossing environments.

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Endangering yourself to save another: A real life ethical dilemma

10.31234/osf.io/rjndy ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Igor Radun ◽

Jenni Radun ◽

Jyrki Kaistinen ◽

Jake Olivier ◽

Göran Kecklund ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ethical Dilemma ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Autonomous Vehicle ◽

Real Life ◽

Survey Study ◽

Heavy Vehicle ◽

The Road ◽

Road Users ◽

Empathy Score ◽

Experimental Survey

Unlike hypothetical trolley problem studies and an ongoing ethical dilemma with autonomous vehicles, road users can face similar ethical dilemmas in real life. Swerving a heavy vehicle towards the road-side in order to avoid a head-on crash with a much lighter passenger car is often the only option available which could save lives. However, running off-road increases the probability of a roll-over and endangers the life of the heavy vehicle driver. We have created an experimental survey study in which heavy vehicle drivers randomly received one of two possible scenarios. We found that responders were more likely to report they would ditch their vehicle in order to save the hypothetical driver who fell asleep than to save the driver who deliberately diverted their car towards the participant’s heavy vehicle. Additionally, the higher the empathy score, the higher the probability of ditching a vehicle. Implications for autonomous vehicle programming are discussed.

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