Autonomous Vehicle Technology

Autonomous Vehicle Technology
Author: James M. Anderson
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2014-01-10
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 0833084372

The automotive industry appears close to substantial change engendered by “self-driving” technologies. This technology offers the possibility of significant benefits to social welfare—saving lives; reducing crashes, congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution; increasing mobility for the disabled; and ultimately improving land use. This report is intended as a guide for state and federal policymakers on the many issues that this technology raises.

Automated Vehicles are Probably Legal in the United States

Automated Vehicles are Probably Legal in the United States
Author: Bryant Walker Smith
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre: Motor vehicles
ISBN: 9781481135177

Note: This is the original 2012 report. An updated 2014 law review article is available as 1 Tex. A&M. L. Rev. 411. This report provides the most comprehensive discussion to date of whether so-called automated, autonomous, self-driving, or driverless vehicles can be lawfully sold and used on public roads in the United States. The short answer is that the computer direction of a motor vehicle's steering, braking, and accelerating without real-time human input is probably legal. The long answer, contained in the report, provides a foundation for tailoring regulations and understanding liability issues related to these vehicles. The report's largely descriptive analysis, which begins with the principle that everything is permitted unless prohibited, covers three key legal regimes: the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, regulations enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the vehicle codes of all fifty US states. The Geneva Convention, to which the United States is a party, probably does not prohibit automated driving. The treaty promotes road safety by establishing uniform rules, one of which requires every vehicle or combination thereof to have a driver who is "at all times ... able to control" it. However, this requirement is likely satisfied if a human is able to intervene in the automated vehicle's operation. NHTSA's regulations, which include the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to which new vehicles must be certified, do not generally prohibit or uniquely burden automated vehicles, with the possible exception of one rule regarding emergency flashers. State vehicle codes probably do not prohibit-but may complicate-automated driving. These codes assume the presence of licensed human drivers who are able to exercise human judgment, and particular rules may functionally require that presence. New York somewhat uniquely directs a driver to keep one hand on the wheel at all times. In addition, far more common rules mandating reasonable, prudent, practicable, and safe driving have uncertain application to automated vehicles and their users. Following distance requirements may also restrict the lawful operation of tightly spaced vehicle platoons. Many of these issues arise even in the three states that expressly regulate automated vehicles. The primary purpose of this report is to assess the current legal status of automated vehicles. However, the report includes draft language for US states that wish to clarify this status. It also recommends five near-term measures that may help increase legal certainty without producing premature regulation. First, regulators and standards organizations should develop common vocabularies and definitions that are useful in the legal, technical, and public realms. Second, the United States should closely monitor efforts to amend or interpret the 1969 Vienna Convention, which contains language similar to the Geneva Convention but does not bind the United States. Third, NHTSA should indicate the likely scope and schedule of potential regulatory action. Fourth, US states should analyze how their vehicle codes would or should apply to automated vehicles, including those that have an identifiable human operator and those that do not. Finally, additional research on laws applicable to trucks, buses, taxis, low-speed vehicles, and other specialty vehicles may be useful. This is in addition to ongoing research into the other legal aspects of vehicle automation.

Autonomous Driving

Autonomous Driving
Author: Markus Maurer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 698
Release: 2016-05-21
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3662488477

This book takes a look at fully automated, autonomous vehicles and discusses many open questions: How can autonomous vehicles be integrated into the current transportation system with diverse users and human drivers? Where do automated vehicles fall under current legal frameworks? What risks are associated with automation and how will society respond to these risks? How will the marketplace react to automated vehicles and what changes may be necessary for companies? Experts from Germany and the United States define key societal, engineering, and mobility issues related to the automation of vehicles. They discuss the decisions programmers of automated vehicles must make to enable vehicles to perceive their environment, interact with other road users, and choose actions that may have ethical consequences. The authors further identify expectations and concerns that will form the basis for individual and societal acceptance of autonomous driving. While the safety benefits of such vehicles are tremendous, the authors demonstrate that these benefits will only be achieved if vehicles have an appropriate safety concept at the heart of their design. Realizing the potential of automated vehicles to reorganize traffic and transform mobility of people and goods requires similar care in the design of vehicles and networks. By covering all of these topics, the book aims to provide a current, comprehensive, and scientifically sound treatment of the emerging field of “autonomous driving".

Road Vehicle Automation

Road Vehicle Automation
Author: Gereon Meyer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2014-06-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319059904

This contributed volume covers all relevant aspects of road vehicle automation including societal impacts, legal matters, and technology innovation from the perspectives of a multitude of public and private actors. It is based on an expert workshop organized by the Transportation Research Board at Stanford University in July 2013. The target audience primarily comprises academic researchers, but the book may also be of interest to practitioners and professionals. Higher levels of road vehicle automation are considered beneficial for road safety, energy efficiency, productivity, convenience and social inclusion. The necessary key technologies in the fields of object-recognition systems, data processing and infrastructure communication have been consistently developed over the recent years and are mostly available on the market today. However, there is still a need for substantial research and development, e.g. with interactive maps, data processing, functional safety and the fusion of different data sources. Driven by stakeholders in the IT industry, intensive efforts to accelerate the introduction of road vehicle automation are currently underway.

Road Vehicle Automation 3

Road Vehicle Automation 3
Author: Gereon Meyer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2016-07-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3319405039

This edited book comprises papers about the impacts, benefits and challenges of connected and automated cars. It is the third volume of the LNMOB series dealing with Road Vehicle Automation. The book comprises contributions from researchers, industry practitioners and policy makers, covering perspectives from the U.S., Europe and Japan. It is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium 2015 which was jointly organized by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in July 2015. The topical spectrum includes, but is not limited to, public sector activities, human factors, ethical and business aspects, energy and technological perspectives, vehicle systems and transportation infrastructure. This book is an indispensable source of information for academic researchers, industrial engineers and policy makers interested in the topic of road vehicle automation.

ITS Sensors and Architectures for Traffic Management and Connected Vehicles

ITS Sensors and Architectures for Traffic Management and Connected Vehicles
Author: Lawrence A. Klein
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2017-08-07
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1351800965

An intelligent transportation system (ITS) offers considerable opportunities for increasing the safety, efficiency, and predictability of traffic flow and reducing vehicle emissions. Sensors (or detectors) enable the effective gathering of arterial and controlled-access highway information in support of automatic incident detection, active transportation and demand management, traffic-adaptive signal control, and ramp and freeway metering and dispatching of emergency response providers. As traffic flow sensors are integrated with big data sources such as connected and cooperative vehicles, and cell phones and other Bluetooth-enabled devices, more accurate and timely traffic flow information can be obtained. The book examines the roles of traffic management centers that serve cities, counties, and other regions, and the collocation issues that ensue when multiple agencies share the same space. It describes sensor applications and data requirements for several ITS strategies; sensor technologies; sensor installation, initialization, and field-testing procedures; and alternate sources of traffic flow data. The book addresses concerns related to the introduction of automated and connected vehicles, and the benefits that systems engineering and national ITS architectures in the US, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere bring to ITS. Sensor and data fusion benefits to traffic management are described, while the Bayesian and Dempster–Shafer approaches to data fusion are discussed in more detail. ITS Sensors and Architectures for Traffic Management and Connected Vehicles suits the needs of personnel in transportation institutes and highway agencies, and students in undergraduate or graduate transportation engineering courses.

Vehicles, Drivers, and Safety

Vehicles, Drivers, and Safety
Author: John Hansen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2020-05-05
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 311066657X

This book presents works from world-class experts from academia, industry, and national agencies representing countries from across the world focused on automotive fields for in-vehicle signal processing and safety. These include cutting-edge studies on safety, driver behavior, infrastructure, and human-to-vehicle interfaces. Vehicle Systems, Driver Modeling and Safety is appropriate for researchers, engineers, and professionals working in signal processing for vehicle systems, next generation system design from driver-assisted through fully autonomous vehicles.

Road Vehicle Automation 2

Road Vehicle Automation 2
Author: Gereon Meyer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2015-06-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319190784

This paper collection is the second volume of the LNMOB series on Road Vehicle Automation. The book contains a comprehensive review of current technical, socio-economic, and legal perspectives written by experts coming from public authorities, companies and universities in the U.S., Europe and Japan. It originates from the Automated Vehicle Symposium 2014, which was jointly organized by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) in Burlingame, CA, in July 2014. The contributions discuss the challenges arising from the integration of highly automated and self-driving vehicles into the transportation system, with a focus on human factors and different deployment scenarios. This book is an indispensable source of information for academic researchers, industrial engineers, and policy makers interested in the topic of road vehicle automation.

Automated Highway Systems

Automated Highway Systems
Author: Petros Ioannou
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2013-04-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1475745737

Experts address some of the main issues and uncertainties associated with the design and deployment of Automated Highway Systems (AHS). They discuss new AHS concepts, technology, and benefits, as well as institutional, environmental, and social issues - concerns that will affect dramatically the operation of the current highway system from both the vehicle and infrastructure points of view.

Encyclopedia of Transportation

Encyclopedia of Transportation
Author: Mark Garrett
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 2000
Release: 2014-08-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 148334651X

Viewing transportation through the lens of current social, economic, and policy aspects, this four-volume reference work explores the topic of transportation across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and related areas, including geography, public policy, business, and economics. The book’s articles, all written by experts in the field, seek to answer such questions as: What has been the legacy, not just economically but politically and socially as well, of President Eisenhower’s modern interstate highway system in America? With that system and the infrastructure that supports it now in a state of decline and decay, what’s the best path for the future at a time of enormous fiscal constraints? Should California politicians plunge ahead with plans for a high-speed rail that every expert says—despite the allure—will go largely unused and will never pay back the massive investment while at this very moment potholes go unfilled all across the state? What path is best for emerging countries to keep pace with dramatic economic growth for their part? What are the social and financial costs of gridlock in our cities? Features: Approximately 675 signed articles authored by prominent scholars are arranged in A-to-Z fashion and conclude with Further Readings and cross references. A Chronology helps readers put individual events into historical context; a Reader’s Guide organizes entries by broad topical or thematic areas; a detailed index helps users quickly locate entries of most immediate interest; and a Resource Guide provides a list of journals, books, and associations and their websites. While articles were written to avoid jargon as much as possible, a Glossary provides quick definitions of technical terms. To ensure full, well-rounded coverage of the field, the General Editor with expertise in urban planning, public policy, and the environment worked alongside a Consulting Editor with a background in Civil Engineering. The index, Reader’s Guide, and cross references combine for thorough search-and-browse capabilities in the electronic edition. Available in both print and electronic formats, Encyclopedia of Transportation is an ideal reference for libraries and those who want to explore the issues that surround transportation in the United States and around the world.