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What is an automated vehicle?

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Autonomous driving is already a reality, and holds the promise of safer roads and enhanced mobility.

We have created this resource to provide you with information about automated vehicles, their architecture and challenges of autonomous logistics.

This course has been developed within the european project AWARD (All Weather Autonomous Real logistics operations and Demonstrations), bringing together industrials and researchers all over Europe.

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About this course

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The main challenges

Autonomous or automated?

Discover the challenges of autonomous driving

Explore the different terms and their meanings

Take your time and feel free navigating the contents.There is no particular order in discovering the different units, and you can skip those parts that you are already familiar with.

If you want to delve into a topic, just click on the "+ info" button, and explore the additional ressources.

Automation levels

Discover how vehicles become autonomous

Myths and reality

Discover the reality of autonomous driving

Unit 2

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Unit 3

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Unit 2

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What is an automated vehicle?

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Myths and reality

Driverless taxis and robotic cars... what are we exactly talking about ?

Click on the different statements to discover if they are myths or realities.Click on the "+" icon to discover more to the different topics.

Not quite yet...

Driving in harsh weather conditions, such as rain or fog, is still quite a challenge.

Partially true!

Autonomous driving does not require any human intervention

90% of car accidents are caused by human error. However, autonomous driving can impact safety and traffic.

Self-driving cars guarantee safer traffic

Automated vehicles are able to drive in all weather conditions

Autonomous vehicles can drive everywhere

Not quite yet...

There are roads that are certified for autonomous driving, equipped with supervision tools.

Partially true!

An autonomous car does not require a driver. However, it still requires human supervision.

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The main challenges

Autonomous or automated?

Discover the challenges of autonomous driving

Explore the different terms and their meanings

Automation levels

Discover how vehicles become autonomous

Myths and reality

Discover the reality of autonomous driving

skip to the end

Unit 2

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Unit 3

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Unit 2

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What is an automated vehicle?

Feel free to explore this part again!

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The main challenges

Autonomous driving has to face a lot of challenges. Practically, an autonomous car has to be able to operate in any condition a human is able to drive.

Click on the buttons to discover the three factors that have to be monitored at all times by an autonomous car (just like by a human!)

Next

Previous

The main challenges

Autonomous or automated?

Discover the challenges of autonomous driving

Explore the different terms and their meanings

Automation levels

Discover how vehicles become autonomous

Myths and reality

skip to the end

Discover the reality of autonomous driving

Unit 2

Description

Unit 2

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Unit 3

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What is an automated vehicle?

Feel free to explore this part again!

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Autonomous or automated?

When talking about AVs (Autonomous or Automated Vehicles), a lot of terms are used to refer to these vehicles. The different terms appear to be synonyms, but they not always are.

Click on the question mark to randomly choose a term and click on the word to discover its meaning.

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Autonomous or automated?

Even though AVs perform certain operations autonomously, they rely on a network of devices to do so.In this regard, their overall autonomy is actually limited, since their performance depends on the correct functioning of other elements of the network. AVs are, thus, actually quite dependant, despite their autonomy.Click on the dots to discover this network.

AVs collect data from the infrastructure (traffic regulation, cameras, etc.) in order to adapt as they drive.

A control center monitors the vehicle at all times, along with the other vehicles in the network.

AVs are equipped with wireless communication devices and exchange data at all times.

Next

Previous

The main challenges

Autonomous or automated?

Discover the challenges of autonomous driving

Explore the different terms and their meanings

Automation levels

Discover how vehicles become autonomous

Myths and reality

Discover the reality of autonomous driving

skip to the end

Unit 2

Description

Unit 3

Description

Unit 2

Description

What is an automated vehicle?

Feel free to explore this part again!

Next

Previous

Automation levels

To identify the level of automation of a vehicle, four aspects have to be examined : the control of the vehicle, the monitoring of the environment, protocol in case of danger and range of circulation.This allows ranking the automation level of the vehicle from 0 to 5.Click on the numbers to discover the automation levels.

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4

3

2

1

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Next

Previous

What is an automated vehicle?

The main challenges

Autonomous or automated?

Discover the challenges of autonomous driving

Explore the different terms and their meanings

Automation levels

Discover how vehicles become autonomous

Myths and reality

Discover the reality of autonomous driving

skip to the end

Unit 2

Description

Unit 3

Description

Unit 2

Description

Feel free to explore this part again!

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Level 4Mind off

At this stage, we can talk about high driving automation. This means, that the vehicle is able not only to drive in an automated way, but also to intervene in a panel of situations without involving the driver. For instance, in case of failure or danger, it is able to put itself in a safe position.The driver is less involved and can get distracted during the process. However, their reaction may be needed in order to take the right decision.

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Route

It is the path for getting from point A to point B.The path can be optimized, according to the distance and speed limitations. Today, GPS powered tools can do the maths for you, giving suggestions of possible routes.An autonomous vehicle is equipped with GPS devices that locate it at all times and make sure the vehicle reaches its destination. The term "virtual route" or "virtual path" refers to the path planning.

Autonomous

An autonomous vehicle is capable of operating without human input. It is able to perform accelerating, steering and braking, and can deal with critical situations on its own.As you will see further, an autonomous vehicle corresponds to the hightest level of automation (Level 5).

Driverless

A driverless vehicle is able to operate without any human intervention and in any kind of situation.This term refers to vehicles with the highest level of automation (Level 5, as you will discover further).

Human intervention

An autonomous car is, by definition, a vehicle that is able to accomplish driving, accelerating and braking in a safe way always and everywhere.However, human supervision is required when controlling individual vehicles that drive autonomously, or a zone where several vehicles navigate simultaneously.

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Automated

Automated vehicles are vehicles in which some operations occur without a direct intervention from the driver. This term is the most generic and refers to vehicles of different levels of automation.

Operational domain

Today, autonomous vehicles mainly operate on private sites, since it allows controlling a lot of parametres (e.g. route, speed, hazards). Autonomous vehicles are characterized with an ODD (Operational Design Domain), indicating on which kind of road the vehicle can be driven.

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Surroundings

On the road, the environment of a vehicle is what surrounds it: the other road users (cars, bycicles, pedestrians), the urban infrastructure, the weather conditions.A lot of unexpected events can occur on a public road, which requires awareness at all times. Dealing with unexpectedness and weather conditions is one of the biggest challenges of autonomous driving.

Level 0No automation

The driver is fully involved in the driving process, and performs all the operations related to driving (accelerating, braking, steering).The vehicle can, however, be supplied with features such as Automated Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning, Collision Warning, etc.

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Speed

The speed limitations regulate the traffic and aim to guarantee safety of the road users. However, the vehicle must adapt its speed to its immediate environment (traffic, presence of vulnerable users, weather conditions).Being able to adapt its speed to the surroundings is quite a challenge and requires multiple inputs from the different sensors that an autonomous vehicle is equipped with.

Level 5Full automation

These vehicles require no human intervention whatsoever, not even in case of emergency. The vehicle is thus not equipped with a steering wheel nor pedals.The fully automated vehicle is able to perform everywhere and in all conditions.

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Level 1Foot off

The driver is still 100% involved in the driving process, but the vehicle is supplied with a system which can partially perform steering and accelerating, if activated (Lane Centering or Adaptive Cruise Control).At this level, we can talk about driving assistance.

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Self-driving

A self-driving vehicle has the ability to perform the driving process without any intervention of the driver.These vehicles have the possibility to hand over the control to the driver for other operations, however. In this respect, they are not as advanced as "autonomous" and "driverless" vehicles.

Level 3Eyes off

The vehicle is equipped with conditional driving automation functions, that the driver is able to activate. The vehicle is able to predict an accident, but cannot react by itself. In case of extreme environment or failure, it sends a take-over request to the driver.The driver is thus able to briefly look away from the road, for example in a traffic jam.

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Safety

Delegating the driving to a machine could drastically reduce the number of traffic accidents. Furthermore, it could considerably improve urban traffic and make public transportation much more fluid.However, as you will find out in this course, even though AV solutions aim to meet these expectations, the technologies behind them are multifaceted and bring up new questions.

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Harsh weather

As you will discover in Episode 3, autonomous vehicles can struggle with rain, snow, fog or even sun.Solutions are currently developed to bypass this challenge and make autonomous driving safe in all kinds of weather.

Level 2Hands off

The vehicle is equipped with ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistance Systems), which provide continuous assistance in steering and accelerating. However, the vehicle is not able to avoid potential obstacles. The driver has still to be fully involved and aware of the driving process.

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