2016 D-STOP Symposium ("Smart Cities") session by WNCG's Robert Heath. Get symposium details: http://ctr.utexas.edu/research/d-stop/education/annual-symposium/

1. The value of communication and
infrastructure for automated cars
Professor Robert W. Heath Jr., PhD, PE
Wireless Networking and Communications Group
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
www.profheath.org
Thanks to sponsors including the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Data-Supported Transportation
Operations and Planning (D-STOP) Tier 1 University Transportation Center, the Texas Department of Transportation
under Project 0-6877 entitled “Communications and Radar- Supported Transportation Operations and Planning (CAR-
STOP)”, National Instruments, and Toyota IDC

2. 2
Automated vehicles
Fully
self-driving
automation
LEVEL 4
Driver
provides
destination
Driver not
available for
control
Limited/Full
Self driving
cars
Driver can cede
control over a
primary
function (eg.
ACC)
Responsible for
safe operation
Full driver
control at all
times
Diver can cede
full control of all
safety-critical
functions
Driver does not
have to monitor
the roadway at
all times
LEVEL 3
Limited
self-driving
automation
LEVEL 2
Combined
function
automation
LEVEL 1
Function
specific
automation
LEVEL 0
No
automation
Driver can cede
control on at
least two
primary
functions
Driver
responsible for
monitoring the
roadway
NHTSA,“Preliminary Statement of PolicyConcerning Automated Vehicles”,2013

3. 3
Myths surrounding automated vehicles
Automated vehicles can be fully autonomous, no
communication is required
MYTH 1
Infrastructure has no value for automated
vehicles
MYTH 2

4. 4
Limited range of vehicular sensing (ideal)
Car with a driver
Radar can see
200 meters
Drivers can see
3000 meters
Cameras can see
30 meters
Lidar can see
100 meters

5. 5
Limited range of vehicular sensing (in traffic)
Radar can see
3-5 meters
Drivers can see
3-5 meters
Cameras can see
3-5 meters
Lidar can see
3-5 meters

6. 6
How is this solved in aviation?
Show airplane flying
Show airplane
flying into clouds
Air traffic
control tower
Radar tower
Combination of communication, sensing,and infrastructure
Air-to-air commun.
A2A
Airport traffic
control tower
Transponder

7. 7
Separation between
aircraft for collision
avoidance
Fly through weather
with limited or no
visibility
Access to restricted
airspace, faster routes,
more flight options
Full automation is not
required, though
automated flying using
2D and 3D autopilots
using inertial guidance
or GPS is common
Benefits of communication and sensing
Image source:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548628/

8. 8
Do all aircraft really exploit comm.and sensing?
Flies instrument flight rules (IFR)
o Access to restricted airspace
o Faster routes and more flight options
o Ground based radar can track VFR and
IFR aircraft
Flies under visual flight rules (VFR)
o Less flexible travel, limited airspace
o Need to carefully monitor weather
o Recreational form of travel
No!

9. Takeaway #1: Communication is useful
Expand the sensing range of
the vehicle
Higher levels of traffic
coordination like platooning
Allows interactions
between vehicles with
different automation levels
More informed safety
decisions

10. 10
Takeaway #2: Infrastructure is valuable
Effective with non-connected
cars, bicycles,and pedestrians
Can be used for other
functions,for example
more precise navigation
Supports sensing of the
environment,does not require
all cars to have complete sensing
equipment
Helps coordinate traffic through
intersections,eliminating lights

11. !
11
Ex: Passing on rural roads
What if the bus or oncoming car do not have communication capability?
82% of head-on fatal
collisions take place in
rural areas
Radar requires line-of-sight
Both communication and
radar are useful for
collision avoidance

12. 12
Ex: Passing on rural roads
Infrastructure has enhanced sensing,better communication range
Infrastructure w/ sensing can broadcast
position, velocity,and acceleration of
vehicles

13. 13
# of collisions
with correct
warning
# of safe
maneuvers with
incorrect warning
# of safe
maneuvers with
received warning
message
V2V - DSRC 2,545 113 349
V2I with 200m spacing 3,482 322 1097
V2I with 500m spacing 3,436 288 985
Benefits of comm. and sensing at infrastructure
Infrastructure can provide much better collision warning capability
Alice Chu,Michael Motro, Junil Choi, AbdulRawoof Pinjari, Chandra R. Bhat,Joydeep Ghosh,and R. W. Heath, Jr., ``VehicularAd-Hoc
Network (VANET) Simulations Of Overtaking Maneuvers On Two-Lane RuralHighways,'' submitted February 2016.
3,593 collisions 1,097 safe maneuvers

14. 14
Other benefits of sensing & infrastructure
* J. Choi, N. González Prelcic, R. Daniels, C. R. Bhat,and R. W. Heath,Jr., `` Millimeter Wave Vehicular Communication to Support Massive
Automotive Sensing,'' submitted to IEEE Communications Magazine,February 2016.Also available on ArXiv.
** N. Gonzalez-Prelcic, Roi Mendez-Rial,and R. W. Heath Jr., ”Radaraided beamforming in mmWave V2I communications support antenna
diversity," ITA 2016 .
BS supporting
V2X
antennas
Radar operating in another band Radar at the
infrastructure
can help predict
blockages
Improves communication link
efficiency and reduces overheads

15. What can we expect of smart cities in the future?
15http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures
RESTRICTED LANES
RURAL AREA
DENSE URBAN AREA
DENSE SUBURBAN AREA
Class B Road Space
Level 4 automation and full communication only Automated-only
lane
Class C Road Space
Level 3 automation and full communication only
Class G Road Space
No automation or communication requirement
Must use communication equipment if available