EVENTS

Driving is a challenging task. In our everyday life as drivers, we are facing unexpected situations we need to handle in a safe and efficient way. The same is valid for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs), which also need to handle these situations, to a certain extent, depending on their automation level.

The higher the automation level is, the higher the expectations for the system to cope with these situations are. In the context of this project, these unexpected situations where the normal operation of the CAV is close to be disrupted (e.g. ODD limit is reached due to traffic changes, harsh weather/light conditions, imperfect data, sensor/communication failures, etc.), are called “events”.

EVENTS is also the acronym of this project. Today, CAVs are facing several challenges (e.g. perception in complex urban environments, Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) detection, perception in adverse weather and low visibility conditions) that should be overcome in order to be able to drive through these events in a safe and reliable way.

Within our scope, and in order to cover a wide area of scenarios, these kinds of events are clustered under three main use cases: a) Interaction with VRUs, b) Non-Standard and Unstructured Road Conditions and c) Low Visibility and Adverse Weather Conditions. Our vision in EVENTS is to create a robust and self-resilient perception and decision-making system for AVs to manage different kind of “events” on the horizon.

These events result in reaching the AV ODD limitations due to the dynamic changing road environment (VRUs, obstacles) and/or due to imperfect data (e.g. sensor and communication failures). The AV should continue and operate safely no matter what. When the system cannot handle the situation, an improved minimum risk manoeuvre should be put in place.