交通基礎設施專家 Kirk Steudle 反思了網(wǎng)聯(lián)化自動駕駛汽車快速發(fā)展的現(xiàn)狀及未來面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。
“汽車機械和電氣工程師的工作領域是車輪上方，而土木工程師則是車輪下方。”Kirk Steudle 開玩笑說，“盡管雙方都得花點時間才能理解對方的行話，但由于網(wǎng)聯(lián)自動駕駛汽車的出現(xiàn)，這兩個行業(yè)必須團結起來，共同解決社會大眾的交通出行問題。”
Kirk Steudle 是一名長期耕耘在“車對路”領域的注冊工程師，去年 10 月從密歇根州運輸部長一職光榮退休，職業(yè)生涯中曾取得了無數(shù)成就。在 Steudle 的領導下，密歇根州運輸部大力推動網(wǎng)聯(lián)汽車和自動駕駛技術的發(fā)展，該州也迅速在相關技術的開發(fā)、測試和基礎設施標準制定方面走在了全美前列。此外，Steudle 還在退休前一年兼任美國交通運輸中心（American Center for Mobility，下簡稱 ACM 中心）的臨時首席執(zhí)行官。ACM 中心占地 500 英畝，位于安阿伯市附近，是全美自動駕駛汽車試驗和測試的主要場地之一。
Steudle 在退休后加入交通網(wǎng)絡工程與集成方案提供商 Econolite 公司，擔任公司交通系統(tǒng)集團高級副總裁。近期，Steudle 與《自動駕駛汽車工程雜志》探討了交通行業(yè)目前的發(fā)展狀況及未來可能面臨的挑戰(zhàn)。
“回首 2006 年，當時智能手機還沒有誕生。美國國防高級研究計劃局（DARPA）的確已經(jīng)推出了自動駕駛汽車挑戰(zhàn)賽，但各州的交通運輸主管部門所關注的并不是自動駕駛或自主駕駛，而是網(wǎng)聯(lián)汽車及相關基礎設施。”Steudle 回憶道，“此外，當時還有大量有關‘國家為什么也要參與其中’的討論，有人問道：為什么汽車行業(yè)不能自己玩自己的？畢竟交通運輸部門也管不到安全帶或穩(wěn)定性控制。”
事實證明，政府與行業(yè)的合作對加快技術推廣至關重要。福特（Ford）和通用汽車（General Motors）合作開展的“防撞度量標準伙伴關系（CAMP）”就曾攜手美國高速公路安全管理局（NHTSA），推動了防撞措施在乘用車中的部署以提升交通安全，并證明了 V2I（車對基礎設施）技術的重要作用。
2011 年，美國運輸部在安娜堡推出了安全試點模型部署項目（Safety Pilot Model Deployment），“真正將合作的主題暴露在所有人的目光之下，”Steudle 表示，“事實證明，我們可以讓不同的汽車制造商開始交流，并且取得不錯的結果。”在智能交通系統(tǒng)世界大會（ITS World Congress）有關“安全試點”項目的演示環(huán)節(jié)中，美國運輸部長 Ray LaHood 從演示車中款款走出，并宣布：“這將挽救無數(shù)民眾的生命。”Steudle 介紹說，“運輸部長明白，這可能會改變游戲規(guī)則。”
交通信號和通信
Steudle 斷言，“技術演示（SAE 也曾安排過此類自動駕駛汽車演示活動）有助于揭開自動駕駛技術的神秘面紗，從而推動自動駕駛技術的發(fā)展。因此，這類演示多多益善。”不難想象，讓政策制定者真正先坐到網(wǎng)聯(lián)汽車和自動駕駛汽車中非常重要。他補充說，在這些自動駕駛汽車試駕中，“為車輛配備一名測試駕駛員可以在一定程度上讓乘客更放心”。
Steudle 觀察到，很多州市都呈現(xiàn)出斥巨資升級交通信號系統(tǒng)以使其適用于互聯(lián)自動駕駛汽車的趨勢。“目前，蜂窩網(wǎng)絡 V2X/5G 和DSRC 通信技術之間尚未決出勝負。坦率地說，任何基礎設施提供商或哪個州的運輸部均無法獨立作出決定，到底如何選擇要看汽車公司和電信公司的共同決定。”Steudle 補充說，美國政府與中國不同，“不會直接選定一種技術，然后統(tǒng)一推行。”
但 Steudle 同時指出，由于蜂窩網(wǎng)絡 V2X/5G 與 DSRC 通信技術之間的爭論尚未塵埃落定，公共機構在進行交通信號設施投資時紛紛不約而同地采用了“對沖”的思路。“如果確定未來到底會用哪種技術，實施起來會更快。但大家必須慎之又慎，不能花了大價錢，卻買了一堆很快將被淘汰的技術，就比如早些年間的‘Betamax’卡帶。”在此背景下，一些機構正在同時投資雙種通信技術，“以確保旗下產(chǎn)品可以為未來的各種可能性做好準備。”Steudle 認為，蜂窩網(wǎng)絡 V2X/5G 通信技術將是終極解決方案，但現(xiàn)在還為時尚早。
在 Steudle 擔任部長期間，自動駕駛汽車的公路測試是密歇根交通部“最主要的辯論話題之一”。他解釋說，“現(xiàn)在大家的討論重點是大家能接受多少起事故？但無論如何，如果什么都不做，每年將繼續(xù)有大約 37,000 人因交通事故身亡。從長遠來看，我堅信自動駕駛汽車將有助于減少道路交通事故。”
“到 2025 年，一些新技術的出現(xiàn)和現(xiàn)有技術的大幅提升將給交通出行行業(yè)帶來巨變，比如車輛導航系統(tǒng)精度提升等。”Steudle 預測，“到時候會有很多可以在高速公路工況下提供脫手駕駛功能的車型，可以替代駕駛員完成絕大部分工作，但它們還并不是真正的自動駕駛汽車。”這也是 Steudle 認為業(yè)界必須區(qū)分的兩個重要概念。
建立公眾對自動駕駛技術的信心
最近，《自動駕駛汽車工程》與 ACM 中心首席技術官兼首席安全官 Jeff Rupp 探討了 ACM 中心在制定互聯(lián)和自動駕駛車輛標準方面的作用。
“我認為 ACM 在制定新標準方面可以發(fā)揮的關鍵優(yōu)勢在于，幫助我們的行業(yè)客戶在標準尚未真正落地之前就能開始探索與測試。”Rupp 說，“隨著新流程逐漸成型，我們可能成為首個有能力進行測試，并提供公開可用數(shù)據(jù)的單位。我們可以為行業(yè)提供一些信息，這有助于互聯(lián)和自動駕駛汽車行業(yè)贏得公眾的信心。"
Rupp 指出，新的自動駕駛汽車相關標準僅適用于整個車輛系統(tǒng)，也包括相關通信技術，比如 DSRC、V2V 或 C-V2X 等。“目前，行業(yè)在選擇通信技術方面尚未達成統(tǒng)一，也沒有哪種技術占據(jù)絕對優(yōu)勢。各家公司都馬不停蹄地不斷探索。”Rupp 觀察到，“行業(yè)認識到，最終大家必須達成共識，也就是對安全有共同的定義。公司可能很難判斷何時該從相互競爭、各自保密的傳統(tǒng)，開始轉變?yōu)閿?shù)據(jù)共享和共同協(xié)作的新模式。NHTSA 已經(jīng)開始向這一目標努力。大家都想這么做，也意識到必須這樣做。”
Transportation-infrastructure expert Kirk Steudle reflects on the rapid progress toward the connected-AV future and the challenges ahead.
“In the auto industry, mechanical and electrical engineers work from the tire up. Civil engineers work from the tire down,” quips Kirk Steudle. “And although it’s taken a while for both to understand each other’s jargon, the connected-and-autonomous vehicle is forcing them all together—to solve problems for society’s mobility.”
Steudle, a registered professional engineer, has been at the vehicle-to-road nexus his entire career. Last October he retired as director of the Michigan Dept. of Transportation where, among many achievements, his leadership helped put the state and its core industry in the vanguard of connected-car and AV-related developments, testing, and infrastructure standards. During his final year at MDoT, he also served as interim CEO of the American Center for Mobility, the new 500-acre AV proving ground and test center near Ann Arbor.
Now senior VP of the Transportation Systems Group at Econolite, a traffic-network engineering and integration company, Steudle spoke with SAE’s Autonomous Vehicle Engineering about transportation’s evolution and the challenges ahead.
“Looking back to 2006, ‘smart’ phones hadn’t yet been invented. The DARPA Challenge for self-driving vehicles was happening, but at the state DoT level we weren’t talking about automated or autonomous driving; we were talking about connected vehicles and the infrastructure,” he recalled. “And there was significant conversation asking why should states be involved: Why can’t the auto industry work this out themselves? After all, DoT’s aren’t involved with seat belts or stability control, went the argument.”
Government-industry collaboration has since proved to be vital in accelerating progress. The Crash Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP) between Ford and General Motors, working with NHTSA, helped implement crash-avoidance countermeasures in passenger cars to improve traffic safety, and proved V2I (vehicle-to-infrastructure) technology could work. The U.S. DoT’s Safety Pilot Model Deployment, launched in 2011 in Ann Arbor, “put this subject on the front stage,” Steudle said. “It proved that we could have different auto- makers talk to each other and that it could be successful.”
In a demonstration at ITS World Congress that sprung from the Safety Pilot program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood stepped out of a demo vehicle to declare, “This is going to save people’s lives,” Steudle explained. “He understood that this could be game-changing.”
Traffic signals and communications
Getting policymakers into the seats of connected and autonomous vehicles is important, because the demos (such as those conducted by SAE) “help demystify the technology. The more demos we can do, the better,” Steudle asserted. “Having a test driver behind the wheel provides a level of comfort to the passenger” in these activities.
Steudle sees a trend in states and cities investing heavily in their traffic-signal systems—updating the technology and adapting it for the increased use of connected AVs. “The competing communications protocols—cellular V2X/5G and DSRC—still have to be worked out. That’s frankly not going to get solved by an infrastructure provider or a state DoT,” he explained. “It’s going to get decided by the auto companies and the telecoms.” Unlike in China, government in the U.S. “is not going to select and mandate a technology.”
But he noted that public agencies are hedging on their traffic-signal investments because of the C-V2X vs. DSRC battle. “If we knew which technology we’re going to use, implementation could accelerate. But the agencies have to be careful they’re not buying a bunch of Betamax.” As a result, some are specifying dual communication modes—”to make sure their stuff is ready for the future.” Steudle believes that cellular/5G is the ultimate solution—when it arrives.
The subject of on-road testing of AVs was “a huge debate” at Michigan DoT during Steudle’s tenure as director. “The big public discussion is, how many crashes are too many?” he observed. “But if we do nothing, some 37,000 people will continue to be killed each year. In the long run, I believe autonomous vehicles will help reduce road fatalities.”
Looking ahead six years, Steudle forecasts “technologies not invented yet, and far greater precision in those currently employed such as vehicle guidance, will trans- form a lot of things related to mobility. By 2025,” he said, “I think we’ll have lots of models offering true hands-free driving for freeway use. They’ll be heavily driver-assisted, not autonomous”—an important distinction which he believes industry needs to better define.
Building public confidence in AV tech
During a recent visit to the American Center for Mobility, AVE spoke with Jeff Rupp, the CTO and chief safety officer, about ACM’s role in creating standards for connected and self-driving vehicles.
“I think ACM’s niche related to new standards under development is in helping our industry clients explore and try out new test methods or procedures before they become a standard,” he said. “As new procedures develop, we may be the first to test them out and show publicly-available data. We would provide some transparency to the industry and in doing so help the public develop confidence in what the industry’s doing.”
New AV-related standards will only apply to the whole vehicle system—which Rupp noted might include off-board communication—DSRC, V2V or C-V2X. “There’s no standardization yet, no winning technology. Everyone’s still exploring at breakneck pace,” he observed. “The industry recognizes that eventually there needs to be a point where collectively we say, ‘How safe is safe enough?’ It’s tough for these companies to decide when it’s okay to move from a competitive, secretive mode, to a data-sharing and collaborative mode. NHTSA’s trying to encourage that now. Everyone wants to do it and know they need to do it.”
Author: Lindsay Brooke
Source: Autonomous Vehicle Engineering
自動駕駛汽車示范區(qū)American Center for Mobility位于密歇根伊州普西蘭蒂市，是公私領域合作的成功范例。圖為該中心用于測試信號干擾的隧道。
Econolite 高級副總裁 Kirk Steudle 是全球公認的運輸系統(tǒng)和相關技術專家。
ACM 首席技術和安全官 Jeff Rupp
