Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

Driverless shuttle project puts students on the front lines of the autonomous vehicle revolution

rudmehta — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 18:29:51 +0000

Driverless shuttle project puts students on the front lines of the autonomous vehicle revolution rudmehta Wed, 11/30/2022 - 13:29

If you’ve heard the buzz about the possibility of ��-Dearborn soon having a driverless campus shuttle, we can confirm it’s not just a dream.

In fact, when we tracked down Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Sridhar Lakshmanan, who’s helping manage the student-led project, for a word about their progress, he was able to show just as much as tell.

The six-passenger transport van has already arrived at the IAVS high bay—where students are now busy suping it up with the systems it’ll need for its autonomous makeover. Among the bells and whistles: A series of optical cameras, plus several lidar and radar systems, which work together to form the basis of the vehicle’s “perception” system; and a shoebox-sized supercomputer “brain” that can process 300 teraflops of information per second (yes, that’s a real unit of measure). They even have a hologram system that can project an ad-hoc crosswalk onto the street when the shuttle encounters a pedestrian.

“Our industry sponsors are bringing all kinds of sensors and systems that aren’t even on the market yet,” Lakshmanan said. “Nobody but the big guys normally gets to see this stuff, and now it’s all right here in our labs.”

Little to any of this is simply plug-and-play technology (this is bleeding-edge innovation, after all), so the student team will spend a lot of the summer building and tweaking the algorithmic-based software that allows the various systems to play nice with each other. And that will take them team deep into one of the fundamental debates driving innovation in the autonomous vehicle world—namely, whether perception-based systems can ever be sophisticated enough to create cars with acceptable safety risks.

Lakshmanan explained that for autonomous vehicle technology to really become accepted, it’s assumed that cars will have to have safety records equal to—or ideally, better than—human drivers. And at present, we’re still crushing the machines when it comes to safety. “If you look at the number of miles driven between accidents by human drivers, it’s in the tens of thousands,” he said. “The number of miles driven between fatalities is in the millions. So far, the best anyone has been able to accomplish with autonomous vehicles is in the thousands of miles."

Some engineers suspect that we’re simply asking the perception systems to do too much; they’ll simply never (or at least for the foreseeable future) be able to see, understand and respond to every unpredictable thing that happens on real roads. (For instance, right now, weather is a big hurdle, as even a light snow can quickly cover the lane markers perception systems depend on.) The key to improving performance under all conditions will therefore involve complementing perception systems with a second set of communication technologies. Equipped with these, cars could talk with other cars and highway infrastructure like traffic lights.

“Our cars have surely evolved since the days of the Model T, but so has the original plank road,” says Paul Richardson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering who’s also working on the shuttle project. “If you look at the evolution in the past 90 years that’s responsible for bringing us to where we’re at today, it’s not just the car, it’s not just the road. It’s a whole bunch of things that have come together to enable people to routinely drive 70 m.p.h. on the highway relatively safely.”

Richardson points to a number of more traditionally engineered projects like the interstate highway system, road signage—even asphalt—as evidence. These things, as much as our cars, are responsible for us moving as quickly and safely as we do. Lesson being, making the autonomous vehicle age a reality can’t just be about the cars; we have to make the roads smarter too.

On this front, the shuttle team’s approach is notably more advanced than asphalt: They’re actually constructing a campus LTE communications network that will help guide the shuttle down its pre-programmed loop. It’s far more accurate than using standard GPS and will give them the speed they couldn’t get from existing private LTE networks.

As expected, there’s still a lot of work to do before the vehicle is moving students, faculty and staff around campus. Lakshmanan said the team is hoping to do some limited test runs before the end of the year. Even then, the shuttle will still have one important analogue safety feature: an actual driver, who can intervene at any moment just by grabbing the steering wheel or tapping the brakes.

For students, though, the shuttle may already be taking them places.

“For some of our industry partners who are sponsoring the project, the value proposition is all about talent,” Lakshmanan said. “They want and need people who have experience with this technology. And students, even with just the four months they’ve put into this project, are already getting job or internship offers. So the idea that this is a new talent pipeline, that’s not theoretical. It’s already happening.”

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College of Engineering and Computer Science

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

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Mon, 05/14/2018 - 05:00

There’s a six-passenger vehicle in the Institute of Advanced Vehicle Systems’ hi-bay area to which students are applying systems —like optical cameras, perception systems and a super computer “brain”—to give it an autonomous makeover.

The road ahead: Automated freeway driving will become common in the next decade

admin — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 21:20:41 +0000

The road ahead: Automated freeway driving will become common in the next decade admin Wed, 09/10/2014 - 17:20

Automated freeway driving, truck platooning and pedestrian shuttles will be introduced to the automotive market within the next five years and become common in the U.S. in the next decade, according to an expert forecast detailed today at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Detroit. Along with extensive research and development of self-driving vehicles, these automated features will lead the way for the introduction of vehicles that automatically avoid crashes and assist in safer driving.

More than half of the expert panelists surveyed believe vehicles equipped with fail-safe automated freeway driving will be introduced to the market by the year 2020.

Survey results were discussed just three days after General Motors announced plans to introduce vehicle-to-vehicle communications-equipped cars within two years and to work with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Ford and University of Michigan to build technology-enabled roadways in metro Detroit.

The survey is part of a larger study on the future of automated, connected, and electric vehicles conducted by Steve Underwood at the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS) at University of Michigan-Dearborn in collaboration with CATES in Seattle Washington. This research was supported by the Graham Sustainability Institute at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.

Underwood surveyed and interviewed 20 of the top automotive experts in the field and found agreement in the important and growing role of advanced sensor, communications, and electronics technologies that will influence the future of automotive transportation. These findings were supported by a follow-up survey in July of more than 200 attendees at the Automated Vehicle Symposium in San Francisco, sponsored by the Transportation Research Board and the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

Underwood says results indicate experts in the field believe that vehicle automation and communication will have an influential role in the future of traffic safety improvements. “What surprised me was the almost negligible number of responses saying the introduction of any of these systems will never happen,” he said. “This suggests to me that automated systems of all types are going to come to market; the question we addressed was what will happen when.”

Survey results come on the heels of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s plans to require vehicle-to-vehicle communications technologies in new cars. They estimate the move could prevent half a million car crashes a year.

“Making safer vehicles that avoid crashes is one of the first steps to getting to higher levels of automation. Customers are more likely to feel comfortable with automation if they know that their vehicle and other vehicles in traffic will prevent crashes from occurring. As the level of safety increases so will the public acceptance of vehicles that take over some of the driving,” Underwood said. “This is one of the reasons why the USDOT’s investment in connected vehicles is so important. We have shown that vehicles that communicate with other vehicles can also increase safety.”

Expert forecast findings include:

More than half of the expert panelists surveyed believe
Vehicles equipped with fail-safe automated freeway driving will be introduced to the market by 2020.
Vehicles equipped with fail-safe automated urban driving will be introduced to the market by 2025.
Automated truck platoons driving in close formation with drivers in trucks will be introduced to the market by 2020.
Automated pedestrian shuttles will be introduced to market by 2018.

Faculty Research

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

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Wed, 09/10/2014 - 21:20

Steve Underwood's recently released expert forecast looks at the future of automated driving.

CECS changes to enhance research and integrative learning

admin — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:21:45 +0000

CECS changes to enhance research and integrative learning admin Wed, 06/12/2013 - 09:21

“The IAVS Futures Committee has been exploring possibilities for enhancing research through strengthened ties with industry and better communication with the Office of the Vice President for Research; and a sub-committee of the CECS Administrative Council has explored possibilities for enhancing K-12 outreach,” said CECS Dean Tony England.

“Through these explorations, a reorganization plan has emerged that I believe will move us in the right direction.”

On June 1, the functions of the Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS) and Henry W. Patton Center for Engineering Education and Practice (HP-CEEP) merged. The new IAVS/HP-CEEP will become the hub for research and integrative learning experiences.

"With one organization, we address the need to connect faculty research with experiential learning. It brings the teaching function closer to the research function,” John Cristiano said.

Cristiano and Ghassan Kridli now serve as co-directors of IAVS, with Cristiano continuing to oversee HP-CEEP. England said the appointment of co-directors recognizes the importance of both faculty teaching and research.

The new IAVS/HP-CEEP will emphasize engaging students in industry projects, internships and co-op opportunities, with Tony DeLaRosa and the CECS Cooperative Education Program becoming a part of the organization.

Also on June 1, Engineering Professional Development (EPD) became Extended Learning and Outreach (ELO), led by Jeanne Girard. ELO will expand the functions of EPD to include greater educational opportunities for veterans, pre-college and non-traditional students, and more outreach to K-12 school districts. The office also will encourage professional development activities for alumni.

“Picture education as a lifelong opportunity. We want to bridge the gap between K-12 education and the engineering college,” England said. “After graduation, there’s a saying, ‘If you’re not continuing with professional development, you’re irrelevant by age 30.’ ELO will address that, as well, offering educational opportunities for our alumni.”

Kathryn Tamborino will join ELO to expand established relationships with regional K-12 school districts. She will continue to work in collaboration with the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Life to connect with students and their parents, with a special emphasis on recruiting women to ��-Dearborn’s engineering and computer science programs.

England believes recruiting female students is imperative to building strong programs.

“A wisdom that I share with many industry leaders is that inclusion of women in engineering projects and programs yields better results,” England said. “Scientific studies show that when diverse teams address problems, they come up with better solutions.”

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Extended Learning & Outreach

Henry W. Patton Center for Engineering Education & Practice

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

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Wed, 06/12/2013 - 13:21

University of Michigan-Dearborn’s College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) has made several changes in the last month in an effort to enhance the university’s research program and integrative learning experiences offered to students.

Kridli and Cristiano lead workshop at North American International Auto Show

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 15:14:34 +0000

Kridli and Cristiano lead workshop at North American International Auto Show admin Wed, 02/06/2013 - 10:14

But that’s what was on hand for a group of 60 budding engineers during the NAIAS’ 8^th Annual Education Day.

The props were part of the Engineering Discovery workshop led by University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Ghassan Kridli and John Cristiano. Area high school students were challenged to construct a freestanding structure with the noodles, tape and string that would support the weight of a marshmallow on top.

“Engineers are problem solvers who use every resource possible to bring into existence things and ideas they imagine,” said Kridli, professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering.

The marshmallow exercise challenged students to think like engineers. Designing a plan, building a prototype, testing the structure—students’ innovation and creativity were on display as they crafted and tweaked their projects.

As teams completed the challenge, Cristiano and Kridli talked about the different approaches taken by teams and why some approaches worked better than others.

Even the less-successful efforts were important to the process.

“We discussed how failure to construct a freestanding structure is valuable in terms of learning how not to construct the structure, “Kridli said.

��-Dearborn partnered with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) for this event in an effort to increase exposure to the STEM fields. ��-Dearborn graduate students Ni “Echo” Chen, Parvathy Viswamohan and Waleed Al-Mahshi assisted Cristiano and Kridli.

In addition to the hands-on challenge, students learned what engineers do and what careers are available in the field.

“The sessions went very well,” said Cristiano, director of the Patton Center for Engineering Education and Practice. “It was a fun day that helped expose high school students to the excitement of engineering and at the same time strengthen our relationship with TARDEC.”

Events

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Henry W. Patton Center for Engineering Education & Practice

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

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Wed, 02/06/2013 - 15:14

Marshmallows and raw spaghetti aren’t what you’d expect to find at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).

��-Dearborn receives $200K grant for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle lab

admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 07:22:40 +0000

��-Dearborn receives $200K grant for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle lab admin Tue, 01/18/2011 - 02:22

The college is already a nationwide leader in offering courses about hybrid electric vehicles, said Taehyung Kim, the principal investigator on the grant and an assistant professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering. These courses include "Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV)," "Electric Machines and Hybrid Drives," "Vehicle Electronics II," "Power Electronics," and "Automotive Sensors and Actuators."

But because of the lack of a hybrid electric vehicle laboratory, instruction about HEV design is confined to classroom discussion and simulation. This grant will change that.

"The lack of hands-on experience makes it difficult for the students to become truly proficient in HEV theory, testing, and measurement practices," Kim said. "The acquisition of state-of-the-art instruments will definitely offer students invaluable hands-on research."

The grant will allow CECS to purchase a real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulator, a battery tester for PHEV battery performance and life-cycle tests, and a test cell data acquisition and control instrument. These tools will be used to conduct further research to develop improved plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies.

Specifically, the real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulator is a real-time platform that will be used to design intelligent control systems and perform testing of the controllers for traction motor drives, power converters and power management systems, Kim said.

The battery tester is manufactured to run HEV and PHEV battery modules and cells through a variety of driving cycles, such as the Federal Urban Driving Schedule and the Federal Test Procedure-75. These are cycles established by the federal government to mimic driving conditions, such as those in an urban environment or on a highway, that help predict a battery's efficiency.

The data acquisition and control instrument is the central control system in a modern powertrain test cell, Kim said. It is designed to integrate the other two instruments to execute a predefined test schedule to measure all outputs from sensors on test cell components. It does this by coordinating the real-time simulator, a dynamometer and the battery tester.

The instruments will be used to investigate improvement of the electric motor drive based on intelligent direct toque control, power converter fault detection and compensation schemes, and battery thermal management and digital diagnosis of progressive battery damage.

The research is a multidisciplinary effort. Co-principal investigators on the grant include Dohoy Jung, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Jie Shen, associate professor of computer and information science; Chris Mi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Yi Lu Murphey, professor and chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering; Cheol Lee, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering; and Roger Shulze, director of the College's Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems.

At this time, the laboratory does not have an active partnership with any automotive companies. However, Kim said, he plans to pursue partnerships based on the outcomes of his research.

"The outcomes of the proposed project will not only offer a useful and needed research and educational experience that is relevant to the automotive industry of the day, but they will also help to bolster the industry by providing more qualified students," Kim said.

Story reprinted from Dearborn Engineer, a publication of ��-Dearborn's College of Engineering and Computer Science.

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College of Engineering and Computer Science

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

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Tue, 01/18/2011 - 07:22

The National Science Foundation recently awarded a $200,000 grant to ��-Dearborn's College of Engineering and Computer Science to acquire leading-edge technologies to establish a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle research and training laboratory.

Institute for Advanced Vehicle Systems (IAVS)

Driverless shuttle project puts students on the front lines of the autonomous vehicle revolution

The road ahead: Automated freeway driving will become common in the next decade

CECS changes to enhance research and integrative learning

Kridli and Cristiano lead workshop at North American International Auto Show

������-Dearborn receives $200K grant for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle lab

��-Dearborn receives $200K grant for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle lab