Highly Automated Driving Taking Shape

Research concepts and technologies for reducing drivers’ workload, preventing accidents and reducing environmental impact, these are the objectives of the EU funded R&D project HAVEit (“Highly Automated Vehicles for Intelligent Transport”). HAVEit research focuses mainly on reducing mistakes made by distracted, overloaded or tired drivers when driving in congestions or long-haul trips for example. The project has developed coherent vehicle concepts, combining cutting-edge integrated information and sensor technology. These “intelligent” vehicles are able to assist the driver through various, situation-dependent, levels of automation by providing indications or carrying out the driving task independently. The driver still remains completely responsible at any point in time: He or she has to monitor the system carefully and can take over the complete driving task at any moment.

HAVEit was launched in February 2008. The findings of the three-year research project are to be presented on a Volvo test track in Borås (Sweden) on 21 and 22 June 2011. Four of the seven vehicles include the development and validation of innovative safety, comfort and active green driving applications. Here, highly automated driving will support the driver in overload as well as underload situations and can further improve the fuel consumption and efficiency of vehicles. The applications being developed are an Automated Roadwork Assistance and a Temporary Auto-Pilot, both to be demonstrated in a passenger car, with a truck demonstrating the Automated Queue Assistance and an Active Green Driving hybrid bus.

The other three vehicles cover safety architectural issues: The migration from fail-silent to failure-tolerant systems towards a safe platform for possible later development of a fully automated vehicle. The applications to be demonstrated are a Brake-by-Wire Truck for open roads, a Joint System Interaction vehicle and an Architecture Migration Demonstrator vehicle.

Driving with a co-pilot – Helping drivers and the environment
All demonstrated vehicles with a high degree of automation have an installed “co-pilot” system which analyses traffic, the surroundings and the current status of the vehicle. It computes ideal driving manoeuvres and executes these according to the selected level of automation, reducing fuel consumption and optimising the flow of traffic. But highly automated driving also increases road safety as it relieves drivers of tiring and straining tasks. This applies to mentally straining situations such as roadworks as well. An onboard camera recognises if drivers are distracted and the system can warn them of impending danger or intervene in an emergency. The responsibility, however, always remains with the driver who can decide against automated driving at any point in time and can always
“override” the system.