Hands-off auto drive BMW

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 15 February 2012 12:39

Science - Automotive

A number of car manufacturers (and search engine providers for that matter) are looking at options for cars that drive themselves; BMW is the latest to remove human hands from the equation of travelling along a motor-way.

Google has been dabbling with driverless cars and in the cold climes of Scandinavia Volvo has been playing with auto-drive car platooning trains of vehicles.  BMW now shows off a new auto-drive system travelling down the busy A9 motorway from Munich, with a somewhat smug looking 'driver' sitting hands off the 5 Series Saloon steering wheel.

 

The man behind the unused wheel is Dr. Nico Kämpchen, Project Manager of Highly Automated Driving at BMW Group Research and Technology, and his confidence in letting the car negotiate the heavy traffic by itself comes from having already completed some 5,000 test kilometres utilising the technology involved.

 

Much of this testing was performed on the race track as part of the development of BMW TrackTrainer program, the aim of which was to provide electronic co-pilots armed with super accurate GPS data and predefined race lines to aid in the further development of systems such as adaptive cruise control and Emergency Stop Assist.  The constant comparison of GPS and video data with the digital maps and internal vehicle data was used to automatically guide a vehicle around the legendary North Loop of the Nürburgring on 21 October 2009. Then on 25 May 2011, the  second generation version of the BMW TrackTrainer performed a similar feat at the Laguna Seca Raceway in California, demonstrating that fast and dynamic automated driving is indeed possible.

 

The next step was to take to the motorways.  BMW combined intelligent software algorithms with a range of sensors to further resource into advanced driver assistance systems.  Redundant fusion of various sensor technologies such as lidar (visible Light Detection and Ranging), radar, ultra sound and video cameras that monitor the environment around the automobile.   Redundant does not mean 'superfluous' - to ensure that the vehicle situation is precisely assessed, at least two different measurement methods must be used in every direction.  In this way the developers at BMW Group Research and Technology can be sure that a potential weakness in one method is counterbalanced by the strength of the other method.  

Negotiating the challenges of a car infested motorway is somewhat more challenging than controlling a single vehicle on a closed race track.  'This is an entirely new situation and experience for the driver - it is a strange feeling handing over complete control of the car to an autonomous system.  But after a few minutes of experiencing the smooth, sovereign and safe driving style, drivers and passengers begin to relax somewhat and trust the independent system,' says Kämpchen.' Nevertheless, the driver is still responsible for the situation at all times and must constantly keep an eye on traffic and the surroundings.'

To ensure that the automated research vehicle functions smoothly and with agility in real traffic, the car must be endowed with strategies to react appropriately in daily traffic situations. The basis for these strategies is comprised of two parts: first, pinpointing the position of the vehicle in its own lane is essential and second, the car must be able to clearly recognize all vehicles and objects in its immediate surroundings.
 
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