An Architecture for Automated Driving in Urban Environments

Abstract

Summary. This paper presents a novel navigation architecture for automated carlike vehicles in urban environments. Motion safety is a critical issue in such environments given that they are partially known and highly dynamic with moving objects (other vehicles, pedestrians. . . ). The main feature of the navigation architecture proposed is its ability to make safe motion decisions in real-time, thus taking into account the harsh constraints imposed by the type of environments considered. The architecture is based upon an efficient publish/subscribe middleware system that allows modularity in design and the easy integration of the key functional components required for autonomous navigation, namely perception, localisation, mapping, real-time motion planning and motion tracking. After an overall presentation of the architecture and its main modules, the paper focuses on the "motion" components of the architecture. Experimental results carried out on a simulated Cycab vehicle are presented.

The Future of Autonomous Vehicles in the U.S. Urban Landscape: A Review: Analyzing Implications for Traffic, Urban Planning, and the Environment

“…The architecture's ability to make safe motion decisions in real-time is particularly crucial, considering the unpredictable nature of urban environments with moving objects like other vehicles and pedestrians. In a related work, Chen and Fraichard (2008) delve deeper into the motion components of their proposed architecture. They focus on the real-time aspects of motion planning and tracking, which are vital for the autonomous navigation of car-like vehicles in urban settings.…”