Unsettled Issues in Commercial Vehicle Platooning


Book Description

While platooning has the potential to reduce energy consumption of commercial vehicles while improving safety, both advantages are currently difficult to quantify due to insufficient data and the wide range of variables affecting models. Platooning will significantly reduce the use of energy when compared to trucks driven alone, or at a safe distance for a driver without any automated assistance. However, drivers typically drive closer to each other than recommended to achieve drafting efficiencies, which may shift the benefit of automated platooning to safety gains. More data will be needed to conclusively demonstrate these gains. Unsettled Issues in Commercial Vehicle Platooning discusses the technologies needed to enable close platooning, including brake system condition monitoring, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and concrete infrastructure assessment. The report also looks at driver acceptance of platooning technology from a safety and job security perspective. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2021027




Unsettled Legal Issues Facing Automated Vehicles


Book Description

This SAE EDGE Research Report explores the many legal issues raised by the advent of automated vehicles. While promised to bring major changes to our lives, there are significant legal challenges that have to be overcome before they can see widespread use. A century’s worth of law and regulation were written with only human drivers in mind, meaning they have to be amended before machines can take the wheel. Everything from key federal safety regulations down to local parking laws will have to shift in the face of AVs. This report undertakes an examination of the AV laws of Nevada, California, Michigan, and Arizona, along with two failed federal AV bills, to better understand how lawmakers have approached the technology. States have traditionally regulated a great deal of what happens on the road, but does that still make sense in a world with AVs? Would the nascent AV industry be able to survive in a world with fifty potential sets of rules? Given the current lack of a federal AV law, state-level legislation can have a great deal of influence over the industry. Beyond government regulation, what other areas of our legal system will have to adapt to AVs? How do we assign liability for an accident in which the only actors were machines? How do you give an AV a ticket? The questions are numerous and have already captured the imagination of lawyers and lawmakers. This report will explore a number of potential changes facing the legal system, the unsettled aspects that derive from this new world, and the proposed solutions that have been raised. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the challenges they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2020005




The Challenges of Vehicle Decarbonization


Book Description

A narrow focus on electrification and elimination of tailpipe emissions is unlikely to achieve decarbonization objectives. Renewable power generation is unlikely to keep up with increased demand for electricity. A focus on tailpipe emissions ignores the significant particulate pollution that “zero emission” vehicles still cause. It is therefore vital that energy efficiency is improved. Active travel is the key to green economic growth, clean cities, and unlocking the energy saving potential of public transport. The Challenges of Vehicle Decarbonization reviews the urgent need to prioritize active travel infrastructure, create compelling mass-market cycling options, and switch to hybrid powertrains and catenary electrification for long-haul heavy trucks. The report also warns of the potential increase in miles travelled with the advent of personal automated vehicles as well as the pitfalls of fossil-fuel derived hydrogen power. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2022SE1




Unsettled Topics Concerning Automated Driving Systems and the Transportation Ecosystem


Book Description

Over the last 100 years, the automobile has become integrated in a fundamental way into the broader economy. A broad and deep ecosystem has emerged, and critical components of this ecosystem include insurance, after-market services, automobile retail sales, automobile lending, energy suppliers (e.g., gas stations), medical services, advertising, lawyers, banking, public planners, and law enforcement. These components - which together represent almost $2 trillion of the U.S. economy - are in equilibrium based on the current capabilities of automotive technology. However, the advent of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and technologies like electrification have the potential to significantly disrupt the automotive ecosystem. The critical cog governing the rate and pace of this shift is the management of the test and verification of AVs. In this SAE EDGE™ report, six senior industry leaders in the impacted ecosystems essay articles which describe sectors of the current automotive ecosystem and the manner in which AV technology can potentially reshape them - providing a mosaic of the massive infrastructure shifts which will be required to absorb AV technologies. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2019005




Unsettled Issues Regarding Policy Aspects of Automated Driving Systems


Book Description

Automated driving systems (ADS) represent an area of considerable investment and activity within the transportation sphere. The potential impact of ADS on safety, efficiency, and user experience are extremely significant. To get the most from the technology, it is important to ensure that policies are developed to support the balance between achieving public sector objectives and supporting private sector innovation. This SAE EDGE™ Research Report explores the policy aspects related to ADS technology, explains the key stakeholders, identifies unsettled issues, and proposes a number of steps to move forward and improve the current situation. It is hoped that the report will provide a valuable resource to those involved in the definition of ADS policy from both public and private perspectives. It is also intended to serve as a resource for those involved in ADS planning and development and public sector staff involved in other aspects beyond ADS policy. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the challenges they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2020016




Electric Road Systems for Dynamic Charging


Book Description

Electric road systems (ERS) enable dynamic charging—the most energy efficient and economical way to decarbonize road vehicles. ERS draw electrical power directly from the grid and enable vehicles with small batteries to operate without the need to stop for charging. The three main technologies (i.e., overhead catenary lines, road-bound conductive tracks, and inductive wireless systems in the road surface) are all technically proven; however, no highway system has been commercialized. Electric Road Systems for Dynamic Charging discusses the technical and economic advantages of dynamic charging and questions the current investment in battery-powered and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2022007




Unsettled Issues Concerning Automated Driving Services in the Smart City Infrastructure


Book Description

Information and communication technology is fundamentally changing the way we live and operate in cities, such as instant access to events, transportation, bookings, payments, and other services. At the same time, three “megatrends” in the automotive industry—self-driving, electrification, and advanced manufacturing technology—are enabling the design of innovative, application-specific vehicles that capitalize on city connectivity. Applications could countless; however, they also need to be safe and securely integrated into a city’s physical and digital infrastructure, and into the overall urban ecosystem. Unsettled Issues Concerning Automated Driving Services in the Smart City Infrastructure examines the current state of the industry, the developments in automated driving and robotics, and how these new urban, self-driving city applications are different. It also analyzes higher level challenges for urban applications. Ultimately, this report includes several options for sharing lessons learned among different cities and their stakeholders. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2021030




Autonomous Driving


Book Description

This book takes a look at fully automated, autonomous vehicles and discusses many open questions: How can autonomous vehicles be integrated into the current transportation system with diverse users and human drivers? Where do automated vehicles fall under current legal frameworks? What risks are associated with automation and how will society respond to these risks? How will the marketplace react to automated vehicles and what changes may be necessary for companies? Experts from Germany and the United States define key societal, engineering, and mobility issues related to the automation of vehicles. They discuss the decisions programmers of automated vehicles must make to enable vehicles to perceive their environment, interact with other road users, and choose actions that may have ethical consequences. The authors further identify expectations and concerns that will form the basis for individual and societal acceptance of autonomous driving. While the safety benefits of such vehicles are tremendous, the authors demonstrate that these benefits will only be achieved if vehicles have an appropriate safety concept at the heart of their design. Realizing the potential of automated vehicles to reorganize traffic and transform mobility of people and goods requires similar care in the design of vehicles and networks. By covering all of these topics, the book aims to provide a current, comprehensive, and scientifically sound treatment of the emerging field of “autonomous driving".




Autonomous Vehicle Technology


Book Description

The automotive industry appears close to substantial change engendered by “self-driving” technologies. This technology offers the possibility of significant benefits to social welfare—saving lives; reducing crashes, congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution; increasing mobility for the disabled; and ultimately improving land use. This report is intended as a guide for state and federal policymakers on the many issues that this technology raises.




Energy-Efficient and Semi-automated Truck Platooning


Book Description

This open access book presents research and evaluation results of the Austrian flagship project “Connecting Austria,” illustrating the wide range of research needs and questions that arise when semi-automated truck platooning is deployed in Austria. The work presented is introduced in the context of work in similar research areas around the world. This interdisciplinary research effort considers aspects of engineering, road-vehicle and infrastructure technologies, traffic management and optimization, traffic safety, and psychology, as well as potential economic effects. The book’s broad perspective means that readers interested in current and state-of-the-art methods and techniques for the realization of semi-automated driving and with either an engineering background or with a less technical background gain a comprehensive picture of this important subject. The contributors address many questions such as: Which maneuvers does a platoon typically have to carry out, and how? How can platoons be integrated seamlessly in the traffic flow without becoming an obstacle to individual road users? What trade-offs between system information (sensors, communication effort, etc.) and efficiency are realistic? How can intersections be passed by a platoon in an intelligent fashion? Consideration of diverse disciplines and highlighting their meaning for semi-automated truck platooning, together with the highlighting of necessary research and evaluation patterns to address such a broad task scientifically, makes Energy-Efficient and Semi-automated Truck Platooning a unique contribution with methods that can be extended and adapted beyond the geographical area of the research reported.