Shaping the Future of Mobility – Vehicle Autonomy

Part 3: Building “Seeing” Vehicles to Achieve Autonomy 

In prior articles we looked at the six levels of autonomous vehicles and the on-board and external connectivity requirements necessary for full autonomous driving .  

On US roadways, we have passenger vehicles operating with level 2, and in some limited cases, level 3, vehicle autonomy. It will be many years before we reach full autonomy for many of the reasons we have previously explored. Some key technologies are evolving that allow the vehicle to “see” its surroundings and make split-second decisions to perform an action. This is the step-change needed for us to progress up the autonomous vehicle levels. 

Environmental and Visual Technologies 

If autonomous vehicles are going to help us in our daily lives and dramatically reduce driving fatalities, then they clearly need to see what is ahead of them. Moreover, they need a 360-degree view of everything that could affect them. 

To achieve that objective, integration of a multitude of sensing mechanisms will be necessary. Some of these are already used in today’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), but others are still emerging and are specific to autonomous, self-driving cars. Without them, the full benefits of vehicle autonomy will not reach the mass market. 

There are three core technologies that enable the advancement up the vehicle autonomy ladder: radar, LiDAR, and cameras. 

Radar 

Perhaps the simplest of those technologies is radar. This is already found in some vehicles where it supports certain functions, such as adaptive cruise control. However, it plays an important role in the progression of autonomous vehicles too, especially in low-speed scenarios such as parking assist or operating in slow-moving traffic. Radar also has potential application for other tasks executed at higher speeds like lane changing on motorways, for example. 

Developments in millimeter wave (mmWave) automotive radar systems are facilitating rapid vehicle-to-vehicle communication. mmWave uses shortwave electromagnetics to determine the range, velocity, and relative angle of detected objects which allows the radar sensor to distinguish very small movements and is being tested for autonomous vehicle platooning use cases. 

Radar is a proven technology that offers ongoing reliability regardless of changes to environmental conditions, and it already benefits from economies of scale. Radar does have some inherent challenges, the most important of which is the limited data it provides. Therefore, autonomous vehicles will need to rely on a suite of sensors, rather than just one sensing mechanism in isolation. 

LiDAR 

LiDAR is a technology that nearly all automobile manufacturers are currently including in their development programs and will be pivotal in complementing vehicle radar systems. Here, pulsed light waves are emitted from a laser source, and subsequently bounced off surrounding objects. From the time it takes for each pulse to return to the source’s accompanying sensor, it is possible to calculate the distance it has traveled. The process is repeated millions of times per second to create a real-time 3D map of the environment. This can indicate shape and depth of vehicles, road infrastructure, cyclists, and pedestrians, thereby making it easier to navigate around any obstacles as they appear. A key advantage of LiDAR, when compared with other sensor options, is that it can produce a “bird’s eye” view, resulting in a more comprehensive perspective.  

Recent breakthroughs in LiDAR, like the one announced recently by Luminar, will accelerate the deployments of this technology in passenger vehicles. Luminar has broken through two major barriers: 

• Its LiDAR system reaches 250 meters from the vehicle, allowing for an exponential increase in the data acquired compared to previous LiDAR systems 
• Luminar developed a manufacturing process that aligns with auto manufacturers’ processes, dramatically reducing cost and allowing for mass deployment of the technology 

Luminar is working with Volvo and expects to begin production in 2022. This recent interview of Luminar’s Austin Russell by The Verge gives more insight into the company’s creative approach to redefining how the car manufacturing ecosystem works, which will drive scale and cost efficiencies needed for mainstream autonomous vehicles. 

High-Definition Cameras 

The last component of the “seeing” bundle is high-definition camera systems. 

Placing front-, side- and rear-facing cameras onboard a vehicle will enable it to stitch together a 360° real-time view of its environment. Through this, blind spots can be minimized, notifications about changes to the speed limit can be provided, and lane retention can be assured. The number of cameras required will be dependent on the field of vision of the system and whether automotive manufacturers decide to specify incorporation of “fisheye” cameras, which contain super-wide lenses that provide panoramic views, into their designs. 

Like any sensor technology, the benefits will be balanced against limitations. Although camera systems can distinguish details of the surrounding landscape, depth and distance can be problematic, and object distancing needs to be calculated for knowledge of the exact location of a detected object. It is more difficult for cameras to determine objects in low-visibility conditions such as in low-light, at night, and during adverse weather conditions. 

The Sensor Suite 

The sensor suite of radar, LiDAR and high-definition cameras is essential to the future of autonomous vehicles. When combined, these will provide the breadth of functionality to truly “see” and the redundancy needed to ensure that self-driving cars are safe. 

Achieving the Promise of Full Vehicle Autonomy 

We are seeing a dynamic ecosystem of innovators, industry pioneers, community leaders, and regulators collaborate to deliver on the promise of full vehicle autonomy. Waymo, Luminar, Volvo, Hyundai, Uber, Apple, and so many more continue to announce technology breakthroughs every month. High-bandwidth, super low-latency connectivity both within and outside of the vehicle will interconnect to be the brains of it all. 

Public-private partnerships will remain foundational to how and when we reap the benefits of organic and inorganic investments. Equally vital is the regulatory environment and consumers’ readiness to turn over more driving control to our automobiles.