A Fail-Operational Control Architecture Approach and Dead-Reckoning Strategy in Case of Positioning Failures

Abstract

Presently, in the event of a failure in Automated Driving Systems, control architectures rely on hardware redundancies over software solutions to assure reliability or wait for human interaction in takeover requests to achieve a minimal risk condition. As user confidence and final acceptance of this novel technology are strongly related to enabling safe states, automated fall-back strategies must be assured as a response to failures while the system is performing a dynamic driving task. In this work, a fail-operational control architecture approach and dead-reckoning strategy in case of positioning failures are developed and presented. A fail-operational system is capable of detecting failures in the last available positioning source, warning the decision stage to set up a fall-back strategy and planning a new trajectory in real time. The surrounding objects and road borders are considered during the vehicle motion control after failure, to avoid collisions and lane-keeping purposes. A case study based on a realistic urban scenario is simulated for testing and system verification. It shows that the proposed approach always bears in mind both the passenger’s safety and comfort during the fall-back maneuvering execution.

Sensors and Sensing for Intelligent Vehicles

“… Driving behavior for simulation (1): [ 28 ]. Fail-x systems and fault diagnosis (3) Fail-x vehicle positioning (2): [ 29 , 30 ]. Fault diagnosis of vehicle motion sensors (1): [ 31 ].…”

“…As explained in [ 29 ], presently, in the event of a failure in automated driving systems, control architectures rely on hardware redundancies over software solutions to assure reliability, or wait for human interaction in takeover requests to achieve a minimal risk condition. As user confidence and final acceptance of autonomous vehicles are strongly related to safety, automated fall-back strategies must be assured as a response to failures while the system is performing a dynamic driving task.…”

“…As user confidence and final acceptance of autonomous vehicles are strongly related to safety, automated fall-back strategies must be assured as a response to failures while the system is performing a dynamic driving task. In the work presented by Matute-Peaspan et al [ 29 ], a fail-operational control architecture approach and dead-reckoning strategy in case of positioning failures are developed. A fail-operational system is capable of detecting failures in the last available positioning source, warning the decision stage to set up a fall-back strategy and planning a new trajectory in real time.…”

“…Vehicle positioning is a fundamental task for long-term navigation in a digital map, but also to perform short-term path planning in the local environment. In the previous section, we showed two manuscripts related with fail-x vehicle positioning [ 29 , 30 ]. In this section we present five more papers that deal with this important topic.…”

“…( a ) Satellite’s view of urban route, ( b ) permitted and non-permitted stops in case of total positioning failure, and ( c ) evaluation zone for test case study. (image obtained from [ 29 ]).…”