The Exploratory Advanced Research Program

Recent International Activity in Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation Systems

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FOREWORD

This report has been prepared with the support of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Exploratory Advanced Research Program under the technical supervision of the FHWA Turner–Fairbank Highway Research Program’s Office of Operations Research and Development. This work was initiated to provide the U.S. transportation research community with a better understanding of the current state of research and development and to encourage broader thinking about cooperative vehicle–highway automation systems based on developments in other countries. This topic has received increased attention in the industrialized world, even while interest in the United States has been at a relatively low level in recent years. It is now time that the United States take a fresh look at the technical and institutional issues associated with vehicle automation and its implications for the future of the surface transportation system, particularly when interest in the topic has been growing within the automotive and information technology industries.

Joseph I. Peters
Director,
Office of Operations Research and Development

Debra S. Elston
Director,
Office of Corporate Research, Technology, and Innovation Management

Technical Report Documentation Page

SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

• Europe
• Germany
• The Netherlands
• France
• Japan

Background

• Japan
• Germany
• France
• Parallel Historical Activities in the United States

Institutional and Political Environment for Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation

• Europe in General and European Commission Activities
  • National Activities in Europe
  • France
  • Germany
  • The Netherlands
  • Spain
  • Other European Countries
• Japan
• Korea
• China
• Summary of Key Factors Overseas

Current European Projects in Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation

• SARTRE
• HAVEit
  • Volkswagen’s Temporary AutoPilot
  • Automated Queue Assistance (AQuA)
  • Automated Assistance in Roadworks and Congestion
• CityMobil
  • CityMobil La Rochelle Cyber Car Demonstration (May 2011)
  • CityMobil La Rochelle Conference (May 2011)
• 2010 SMART-64
• Dutch Programs
  • Strategic Platform for Intelligent Transport Systems
  • Advisory Acceleration Control Field Test
  • Dutch Integrated Testsite for Cooperative Mobility
  • Connected Cruise Control
  • Connect and Drive
  • Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge
  • Shock Wave Mitigation with Mixed Equipped and Unequipped Vehicles
• French Programs
• German Programs
  • KONVOI Project
  • German Study on Legal Aspects of Road Transport Automation
• Private Automotive Industry Activities
• European Commission Workshop on Automation in Road Transport

Current Asian Activities in Cooperative Vehicle–Highway Automation

• Japan’s Energy ITS Project
• Toyota’s Platooning Development Work

Comparison with Current U.S. Status

• U.S. Activities
• Similarities and Differences Between Overseas and U.S. Situations
  • Similarities
  • Differences
• Implications of These Contrasts for Future U.S. Actions

References

LIST OF FIGURES

• Figure 1. Diagram. SARTRE operating concept.
• Figure 2. Photo. SARTRE demonstration of three automated cars and one automated truck following the lead truck in a platoon (May 2012).
• Figure 3. Photo. Reading a newspaper while being driven automatically in the platoon behind the lead truck (December 2010).
• Figure 4. Diagram. SARTRE vehicle-maneuvering use cases. NOTE: FV = following vehicle, LV = lead vehicle, PFV/PLV = potential following vehicle/potential lead vehicle, OV = other vehicle (not part of the platoon).
• Figure 5. Diagram. Basic philosophy of multiple levels of driving automation in HAVEit.
• Figure 6. Diagram. Multiple automation levels through one driver–vehicle interface.
• Figure 7. Photo. Example of a human–machine interface, showing different control mode choices.
• Figure 8. Diagram. Complexity of HAVEit implementation.
• Figure 9. Diagram. HAVEit concept of driver monitoring to ensure driver engagement, from Continental Automotive France.
• Figure 10. Photo. Volkswagen’s Temporary Autopilot display, showing three levels of automation choices in lower right corner.
• Figure 11. Photo. Steering wheel controls for Volvo Automated Queue Assistance (AQuA) for heavy trucks.
• Figure 12. Photo. Automated Queue Assistance (AQuA) driver interface for heavy trucks.
• Figure 13. Photo. Automated Queue Assistance system demonstrationfor low–speed automation in a truck.
• Figure 14. Photo. An Automated Roadworks Assistant vehicle follows a lead vehicle between pylons and maintains separation from a truck.
• Figure 15. Photo. Roadworks Assistant driver–vehicle interface, showing three levels of automation on left side of screen.
• Figure 16. Photo. La Rochelle CyberCar demonstration site features a park sidewalk shared with pedestrians.
• Figure 17. Photo. A CyberCar at the station in La Rochelle, France, with an attendant who is required for passenger loading and unloading during the demonstration.
• Figure 18. Photo. Rome Exhibition Center vehicle.
• Figure 19. Photo. Soft bumper of the Rome Exhibition Center vehicle.
• Figure 20. Photo. ULTra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) track at Heathrow Airport.
• Figure 21. Photo. ULTra Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) vehicles and station at Heathrow Airport.
• Figure 22. Chart. Automation concepts considered in the SMART-64 project. NOTE: CACC = cooperative adaptive cruise control.
• Figure 23. Chart. Automation applications and their deployment timescales assumed in SMART-64 project.
• Figure 24. Photo. Distance–versus–time plot comparing a stream of 48 Advisory Acceleration Control vehicles (right photo) with 48 unequipped vehicles (left photo).
• Figure 25. Photo. Cooperative adaptive cruise control platoon of Toyota Prius vehicles developed as part of the Connect and Drive Project.
• Figure 26. Photo. Touch-screen control panel for adjusting parameters of a cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) test. Note: RSU = roadside units, CC = cruise control, ACC = adaptive cruise control.
• Figure 27. Diagram. Urban scenario of the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge.
• Figure 28. Diagram. Highway scenario of the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge.
• Figure 29. Photo. Aerial view of A270 test site with vehicle locations superimposed.
• Figure 30. Photo. Real–time plots of distance-versus-time diagrams during an attempt to mitigate congestion shock waves.
• Figure 31. Chart. Relevant current projects at France’s LIVIC laboratory. NOTE: ABV = Automatisation Basse Vitesse.
• Figure 32. Photo. Four–truck KONVOI platoon driving at 10-m (33-ft) gaps between trucks on a German autobahn.
• Figure 33. Chart. BASt definitions of levels of automation.
• Figure 34. Chart. BASt mapping of automation levels into operating speeds for safety. NOTE: Assist = assistance, ACC = adaptive cruise control.
• Figure 35. Diagram. Venn diagram of automation safety benefits and non-benefits, inspired by the BASt study. Existing crashes that cannot be avoided by automation are represented by the blue circle, new crashes created by automation are represented by the red circle, and existing crashes that could be avoided by use of automation are represented by the overlap areas.
• Figure 36. Presentation slide. Energy ITS truck platoon definition of capabilities. NOTE: V2V = vehicle-to-vehicle communication, ACC = adaptive cruise control, CACC = cooperative adaptive cruise control.
• Figure 37. Diagram. Automation equipment installed on Energy ITS trucks. NOTE: GPS = global positioning system, IMU = inertial measurement unit, V2V vehicle-to-vehicle communication, HMI = human–machine interface.
• Figure 38. Presentation slide. Performance requirements for Energy ITS truck platoon system.
• Figure 39. Diagram. Maneuver scenarios for Energy ITS project truck platoon. NOTE: 80 km/h = 50 mi/h.
• Figure 40. Presentation slide. First predictions of aerodynamic drag effects of Energy ITS project truck platooning, compared with experimental results on full–scale trucks. NOTE: 80 km/h = 50 mi/h, 4 m–12 m = 13 ft–40 ft, Cd = drag coefficient, Cp = pressure coefficient.
• Figure 41. Photo. In-vehicle display screen of a following truck in the Energy ITS platoon.
• Figure 42. Photo. Rear view of Energy ITS truck with three information displays. NOTE: LED = light–emitting diode.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS