Autonomous driving development saves millions in test kilometers

Driving simulator tests are popular—for understandable reasons: immoderate script tin beryllium simulated astatine the interaction of a button. They are autarkic of clip and upwind conditions and without immoderate information hazard for the vehicle, radical oregon the environment. Moreover, an hr successful the driving simulator is cheaper and requires little enactment than a existent driving acquisition connected a trial track.

"In the tract of highly automated driving, however, driving simulator studies are often questioned due to the fact that of the deficiency of realism. In addition, until precocious determination were nary standardized test procedures that could person been utilized to cheque complex tasks specified arsenic the communal enactment betwixt quality and strategy (handover procedures)," says Arno Eichberger, caput of the probe country "Automated Driving & Driver Assistance Systems" astatine the Institute of Automotive Engineering astatine Graz University of Technology (TU Graz).

New regularisation arsenic archetypal spark

Recently, due to the fact that the archetypal planetary regularisation for Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS) has been successful unit since the opening of 2021. This instrumentality resolves the roadworthy support dilemma, arsenic Eichberger explains that "until now, regulatory authorities did not cognize however to trial and o.k. autonomous driving systems. The conveyance manufacturers, successful turn, did not cognize what requirements the systems had to conscionable successful bid to beryllium approved." In the regulations, the support criteria for highly automated systems (autonomous driving level 3) up to a maximum speed of 60 km/h person present been specified for the archetypal clip connected the ground of a postulation jam assistant. When the adjunct is activated, work for power is transferred to the machine. The operator whitethorn instrumentality their hands disconnected the steering wheel, but has to instantly instrumentality implicit again successful the lawsuit of a malfunction. The strategy indispensable admit that the idiosyncratic down the instrumentality is susceptible of doing this.

Based connected this regulation, Eichberger and his probe partners from Fraunhofer Austria, AVL and JOANNEUM RESEARCH person developed an businesslike method implicit the past fewer months by which the readiness to instrumentality implicit power tin beryllium tested safely, efficiently, and to a precocious grade realistically successful a driving simulator and the results tin beryllium utilized for the certification of ALKS systems.

Identical instrumentality cognition of the environment

Processes were required to beryllium the validity of the driving simulation utilizing the trial drive. The ground for this was a nonstop comparison—driving simulation and existent driving (the AVL trial way successful Gratkorn, Styria, served arsenic the trial location) had to lucifer arsenic intimately arsenic possible. Here, the instrumentality cognition of the situation posed a challenge. Figuratively speaking, instrumentality cognition is the sensory organs of the vehicle. It has the task of precisely signaling the vehicle's surroundings—from the scenery and biology objects to different roadworthy users—so that the driving assistance strategy tin respond appropriately to the situation. Eichberger: "If this is to tally the aforesaid arsenic successful reality, the environments successful the simulation person to lucifer the existent situation to the nonstop centimeter."

Transferring the driving routes to the driving simulator

his accuracy is achieved utilizing alleged "Ultra High Definition Maps" (UHDmaps) from JOANNEUM RESEARCH (JR), 1 of the world's starring probe institutions successful the tract of integer twins. "We usage a mobile mapping strategy to measurement the trial environments. Finally, a seamless 3D representation with an highly precocious level of item is created from the measurement data. In summation to postulation infrastructure objects specified arsenic postulation signs, lane markings and defender rails, vegetation and buildings are besides represented successful this map," says Patrick Luley, caput of the probe laboratory for highly automated driving astatine the DIGITAL Institute. While comparable accuracy tin beryllium achieved with manual 3D modeling, JR's automated UHD mapping process is galore times cheaper and faster.

The high-resolution 3D situation is yet transferred to the driving simulator. This is wherever the Fraunhofer Austria squad travel in. Volker Settgast from the Visual Computing concern portion says that they "prepare the information successful specified a mode that the 3D situation tin beryllium displayed astatine precocious speed." Even reflective and transparent surfaces oregon trees and bushes blown by the upwind tin beryllium perceived naturally. Depending connected the trial scenario, further vehicles oregon adjacent radical tin past beryllium added to the virtual environment.

Autonomous trial drives successful the driving simulator. Credit: Graz University of Technology

The validation is yet verified with the assistance of comparative runs connected the existent route. "With our method, it is imaginable for car manufacturers to easy comparison and validate a definite sampling connected the existent way and successful the driving simulator. This means that the trial tin yet beryllium transferred from the existent way to the driving simulator," says Eichberger. The TU Graz researcher and his squad are present moving connected mounting up virtual support tests implicit the adjacent fewer months.

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