It seems whenever we talk about future tech, we can’t help but mention Autonomous Cars. And why not? For the last 40 years, our cars have got easier to drive with cruise control, reverse sensors and self-parking features the norm. But when will we see truly autonomous cars on our roads? I think it’ll take many years as fully autonomous cars will represent the pinnacle of connected, edge computing. And as such will require local (in car) high performing AI, together with connected, remote, cloud services. Then all this must be glued together with very resilient, high bandwidth mobile networks.

My argument is they’ll not be a “big bang” release of Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) taking us to L5, but instead over the next 15 years we’ll see advanced features at L3. So the road to full L5 awaits technology maturity, and of course standardized legislation allowing L5 mobility.

Current State of CAVs Development

Development of (CAVs) has manufacturers investing heavily. Additionally, technology companies including Google, Uber, and Qualcomm are developing solutions that’ll take full advantage of future technological advances, reduced hardware costs, and increased connectivity promised by 5G mobile communications.

But to achieve long-term Level 5 full automation, many challenges must be overcome including deployment of technologies not yet developed. Technical challenges include; advanced artificial intelligence (AI) based on huge data acquisition from advanced in-car sensors capable of sensing the road and environment; latency free, instant decision making, in-vehicle AI processing running cheap, but high-performance compute; communications infrastructure enabling safe vehicle to everything (V2X) communication and interaction; then finally, probably most challenging is unified legislation required so CAVs can travel beyond the limited confines set within smart cities or approved motorways.

Short-term, Level 3 automation promises to be achievable. SAE International Visual Chart (2018-12-11) defines six levels of driving automation, from no automation to full automation. SAE J3016 defines Level 3 conditional automation where the vehicle controls both steering and speed autonomously under normal environmental conditions, but the driver must intervene when required. Examples of Level 3 automation under development include:

• Audi AI traffic jam pilot (2018-10-16): Handles the task of driving in traffic jams or slow-moving traffic up to 60 km/h (37.3 mph). Autonomous driving takes control allowing the driving to relax taking hands off steering wheel and feet off pedals. The need for the driver to intervene is announced in advance.
• Nissan ProPILOT & ProPARK (n.d): Being developed to automatically follow the car ahead at a pre-set distance keeping the car centred in the lane. ProPILOT can even bring the car to a full stop based on the traffic flow, then take it back up to speed when traffic moves again. In addition, ProPark will let the car take control of steering, acceleration, braking, and gear changes to automatically manoeuvre into a parking spot. As not fully autonomous, the driver can intervene at any time, and so must remain alert.
• PSA’s prototypes (2017-11-16): By 2020 Citreon and Peugeot cars will be packed with a new electronic architecture. This’ll involve 20 sensors (12 ultrasonic sensors, six cameras, five radar scanners, one laser scanner), giving the cars a 360º picture of surroundings, and a view of 200 metres ahead; plus embedded HD mapping; vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure connective capability; AI algorithms will enable the cars to make the right decisions based on sensed information; and cars will include unambiguous communication with the driver. This architecture will form the basis for Level 3 semi-autonomous driving capabilities including self-park, and hands-free driving where legally permitted.

Examples above can be considered as autonomous robots. Here we see future vehicles autonomously sensing physical environments, then acting up on sensed data using motors and actuators to perform functions previously performed by the human driver.

In theory CAVs will remove human error while easing traffic congestion through V2X interaction. But the journey to from Level 3 and beyond has many, legal, environmental and ethical “road bumps”. For example, vehicles are mobile, so laws and standards must be unified enabling mobility. And then there’s trust. Will we trust the decision the car’s making? And will these be the right moral decisions? How will future CAVs deal with the “trolley problem”, for example, avoid hitting pedestrians in preference to crashing?

The road to Level 5 is long. Short term we’ll see advancements in connected, smart functions that’ll increase driver comfort and safety. Advancement will build functionality, trust, and legal approval.  But, most likely CAVs will be Level 5 capable a long time before functionality can be used on public roads.

Reference list:

(SAE International Visual Chart, 2018-12-11)	SAE International, Warrendale PA (2018-12-11). SAE International Releases Updated Visual Chart for Its “Levels of Driving Automation” Standard for Self-Driving [Online] Available at https://www.sae.org/news/press-room/2018/12/sae-international-releases-updated-visual-chart-for-its-%E2%80%9Clevels-of-driving-automation%E2%80%9D-standard-for-self-driving-vehicles (Accessed 01 June 2019).
(Audi AI traffic jam pilot, 2018-10-16)	Autoblog, Basem Wasef (2018-10-16). Audi A8 L Review | Brilliant engineering in an unassuming wrapper [Online] Available at https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/16/2019-audi-a8-l-review-first-drive/ (Accessed 01 June 2019).
(Nissan ProPILOT & ProPARK, n.d):	Nissan (n.d). Nissan Intelligent Mobility [Online] Available at https://www.nissan.co.uk/experience-nissan/intelligent-mobility.html?&cid=psmVEHOxMjA_dc|O&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImb3618PL4gIVCLLtCh3-FAAKEAAYASAAEgKvpvD_BwE (Accessed 01 June 2019).
(PSA Group, 2017-11-16)	Car, Colin Overland (2017,11-16). Testing the autonomous cars of 2020: future tech meets the real world [Online] Available at https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/tech/testing-the-autonomous-cars-of-2020-future-tech-meets-the-real-world/ (Accessed 01 June 2019).