Autonomous Vehicles - KPIT

F. Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge
The most challenging autonomous car
journey was conducted by Parma's VISLAB
(Visualization and Intelligent Systems
Laboratory) in 2010. The journey was from
Parma to Shanghai, and it took 100 days to
cover 16,000 kms through nine countries. In
Russia, the team gathered a record: 'The first
autonomous vehicle which is ticketed by a
traffic cop' [7].
We can just have a look at some key
characteristics of the vehicle, shown in Fig. 11
that was used for road trip. The sensing
system of the vehicle was based on cameras
and laser scanners. 5 forward and 2 backward
looking cameras were installed on the vehicle.
4 laser scanners with different characteristics
were placed around the vehicle. The obstacles
and lane markings on the road were located by
the forward and backward vision systems. In
addition, the laser scanners available in the
vehicle were used to detect vehicles in front
and other vehicles [3].
The full control of speed and steering of the
vehicle is handled via CAN messages,
through the x-by-wire equipped in the vehicle.
Fig. 12 shows the TopCon steering, which is
configured to capture commands from a CAN
bus and control the steering. Fig.13 shows the
VisLab board to interface the CAN bus with the
gas control [3].
Figure 11 Figure 12 Figure 13
Figure11: One of the vehicles used during road trip [3]
Figure12: The drive by-wire steering system [3]
Figure13: The custom board controlling the engine [3]
G. Shelley – An Audi Climbs the Mountain
An Audi named Shelley, shown in Fig. 14,
could reach summit of Pike's Peak in 27
minutes. The height of the mountain is almost
12.42 miles. The human record for climbing
Pike's Peak was 17 minutes and Shelley took
10 minutes more than that. In comparison to
the time taken by a steam powered car guided
by human being (took more than 9 hours),
Shelley's record is outstanding [7].
The Audi is named Shelley in honor of Michèle
Mouton. She is an Audi rally driver, who is the
first woman who conquered Pikes Peak. The
selected model for Shelley is a 2010 TTS. It
features a fly-by-wire throttle, cruise control
(adaptive), a DSG gearbox (semiautomatic)
and other gadgetry [13]. The car is made fully
autonomous by using advanced algorithms
like Oracle Java real-Time System, Oracle
Solaris and GPS [13].
Shelley uses differential GPS to track its
location, even if the margin was larger on the
mountain. In Shelley, wheel-speed sensors
and an accelerometer measure the velocity
and gyroscope controls equilibrium and
direction [13].
Figure 14: Shelley [13]
H. Google Car – The Wonder
The autonomous car Toyota Prius hybrid by
Google, shown in Fig. 15, has successfully
covered 1,40,000 miles with only occasional
human intervention since hitting the road in
2010 [8]. Sebastian Thrun led the Google
driverless car program. The car successfully
navigated San Francisco's Lombard Street,
which has eight hair pin turns on one block.
Google believes that the technology of car will
be improved such that it will be safe,
congestion free, and with fewer emissions.
The heart of Google’s car system is a laser
range finder placed on the roof of the car. In
addition, the car carries other sensors, which
have: four radars, placed on the front and rear
bumpers. The traffic lights are detected by a
camera placed near the rear-view mirror. With
the help of the available GPS, wheel encoder
and inertia measurement unit, Google car
could determine the vehicle's location and
keep track of its movements [11].
A detailed 3D map of the entire environment is
10 TechTalk@KPIT, Volume 6, Issue 4, 2013