[khan_sultan]

Toyota had invited Team-BHP to visit the Tokyo Motor Show 2017 and as part of the program, had organized a demonstration of Safety & Automated driving capabilities of the new Lexus - a SAE level 2 Autonomous Driving car.

SAE International - a global association of engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial vehicle industries, categorizes the different levels of automated driving car as follows:


Definitions of what driving tasks mean:


A descriptive narration of what the various SAE levels mean:


Source: http://www.sae.org/

In the real world scenario of automated driving cars, level 2 is where we are at today, with the human driver performing part of the dynamic driving task. Once we reach level 3, the automated driving system will start performing the entire dynamic driving task.

Autonomous driving & safety related developments go hand-in-hand and Lexus shared their thoughts on the same with us:


Aspects of safety need to be looked at a holistic level, addressed as a continuum and not only just while driving:

[khan_sultan]

The following capabilities are necessary for the advancement towards automated driving:


On safety front, Lexus claims to have the following as a world first - a pre-collision system with Active Steering Assist:


Active Steering Assist comes into play here:


Another world first, as claimed by Lexus, are the Parking Support Brakes:


So, where do we go from here? Lexus is confident that by 2020, it will be able to have cars on the roads that can do fully automated driving on the highways (ramp entry to ramp exit) in certain markets where the infrastructure for such vehicles will be in place:

[khan_sultan]

Briefings & presentations done, we proceeded to experience some of the Safety & Automated Driving technology first hand on the roads of Yokohama.

First, we were given a demonstration of the Park Support Brakes. We were seated inside the car and a Lexus driver showed us how they function. Note: This feature works only at speeds of less than 15 km/h (parking speeds).

A dummy was placed behind the car. The vehicle then reversed towards it:


The car gave an audible warning and then braked on its own. I could feel the brakes acting and myself getting pushed in the seat with the brakes when they were applied suddenly:


In another demonstration, the car moved slowly towards a brick wall. It braked on its own after a few audible warnings:


After these safety demonstrations, we proceeded to drive the Lexus & experience the Lane Tracing Assist (LTA) & Lane Changing Assist (LCA) features:


Only folks with IDPs were allowed to drive on public roads and first, we had a short acclimatization drive around the block, where a Lexus driver evaluated our road driving skills. After finding us suitable to drive on public roads, we were taken on the route where we took turns in driving and experiencing LCA & LTA.

In Lane Tracing Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) needs to be activated. It also picks up max speeds from road signs and one can increase or decrease the speed accordingly. Once set, it locks onto the front vehicle and accelerates / decelerates as needed and keeps the car within the lane markings - at all times giving minute steering inputs. The maximum speed limits on the roads we drove were 40 / 60 km/h and the pilot car in the front ensured that we did not cross them. As it went faster or slower, our car automatically increased or decreased its speed accordingly.

It was a bit eerie to let go of the steering wheel (and yet be ready to take control) and felt the car giving little inputs to the steering on its own. At corners, it would give a gradual input to the steering. At times, I felt that it was going straight on instead of turning and needed a small amount of human input (the Lexus driver sitting in the passenger seat did give a few inputs to the steering in the turns at times). After getting a hang of this over a few straights and turns, the comfort factor increased and I was able to experience the LTA better:


For the LCA, one needs to half-hold the turn-indicator to initiate the maneuver. The sensors check if a lane change is feasible. A sign comes up in the console and the vehicle steers itself (without any human input) into the other lane and continues driving. I tried this a couple of times and found it interesting. Having said that, I also had a thought in my mind that one could complete the lane change quicker on his own compared to the car doing it using the LCA function:


The schematic of how the LCA works once you have initiated the process:


While trying out both - LCA & LTA, I had to be super cautious and ready to retake control of the steering wheel at any time. It required a great amount of concentration and awareness of the surroundings & driving conditions. Maybe that's the reason these features are called assist and not something else (like automated). Given a chance to use this technology, even on the well marked highways of Japan, I would prefer to have the controls in my hands. I'm not sure if I will be able to to trust these features. Using LCA / LTA means that I have to be doubly cautious & aware (in a way that leads to more stress) when driving compared to my normal driving style. Or maybe, it's just a matter of getting used to these technologies.

We came back to the briefing area, where Lexus engineers are asked questions that ranged from how soon we can have level 3 autonomous driving cars, the challenges faced (including regulatory & technical), the ethical & moral aspects / liabilities, who takes responsibility in case of accidents involving autonomous driving cars, cellular infrastructure (for data) needed to make autonomous driving cars a reality, data privacy & business models, private data vs diagnostics data, applicability of such tech in emerging markets, etc:

[khan_sultan]

The presentations shared by Lexus have been attached herebelow. Folks interested in getting into the details can have a look.

presentation_002.pdf

safety_001.pdf

safety_002.pdf

safety_003.pdf

Disclaimer: Toyota invited Team-BHP for the Tokyo Motor Show. They covered all the travel expenses for this event.

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Technical Stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[V.Narayan]

Thank you for giving us a glimpse into the future. The lucid explanations and diagrammes help a layman like me understand this new technology better.

Bill Gates and Neil Armstrong both said (at different times) that we typically over estimate what can be achieved in 1 year and under estimate the change 10 years can bring forth. My mind is concerned about the potential for medium skilled jobs of millions of drivers that will gradually evaporate over 30 years - an important factor in an over populated, high-unemployment country like ours. While we as the higher economic enchelons of India argue about this technology both my drivers are aware that autonomous cars may come and that the Govt has said they will be banned in India. For a certain important and large segment of our population the perspectives are different.

I will watch with interest & curiosity as to how this plays out in the developed world and then in India. The inter play of self driven car technology and our traffic chaos will be interesting to study. - Narayan

[Nohonking]

A nice and an informative write-up. Thanks for putting down your firsthand experience here and giving us a chance to plunge into the future.

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

Given a chance to use this technology, even on the well marked highways of Japan, I would prefer to have the controls in my hands. I'm not sure if I will be able to to trust these features. Using LCA / LTA means that I have to be doubly cautious & aware (in a way that leads to more stress) when driving compared to my normal driving style. Or maybe, it's just a matter of getting used to these technologies.

Certainly, no matter how much the technology may advance, we as humans cannot trust anything more than ourselves. Not even any other human as a matter of fact.

Another point is, being electro-mechanicals, these can never be 100% foolproof leaving behind that 'fear factor'. Just a few days back I was reading the news on The Washington Post: "A driverless shuttle in Las Vegas got into a crash on the very maiden day of service". Link

Although this falls under the level 5 automation, it is a fair evidence that it is way too early for automation to be steadfast upon. Thanks.

[deetjohn]

Thanks for sharing this very informative post!

I love level 0 - No Automation when it comes to driving.

And I am okay with level 1 - Driver assistance.

But level 2 and 3 are the absolute worst. The driver is just kept away from the physical tasks (what we love) but needs to be vigilant always and the stress remains!

Compared to that, and if push comes to shove, level 4 and 5 are far better. But I guess there is no reaching 4 or 5, without crossing 2 and 3.

PS: I better go out for a drive right now.

[BLACKBLADE]

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

While trying out both - LCA & LTA, I had to be super cautious and ready to retake control of the steering wheel at any time. It required a great amount of concentration and awareness of the surroundings & driving conditions. Maybe that's the reason these features are called assist and not something else (like automated). Given a chance to use this technology, even on the well marked highways of Japan, I would prefer to have the controls in my hands. I'm not sure if I will be able to to trust these features. Using LCA / LTA means that I have to be doubly cautious & aware (in a way that leads to more stress) when driving compared to my normal driving style. Or maybe, it's just a matter of getting used to these technologies.

Guess it gives a twitchy feeling like sitting in the co-driver's seat while letting your young and inexperienced learner-driver friend/relative, drive your car. Always cautious and watchful and having to reach out to the steering to correct, in case he/she makes a not-so-absolutely-correct move.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

....I will watch with interest & curiosity as to how this plays out in the developed world and then in India. The inter play of self driven car technology and our traffic chaos will be interesting to study. - Narayan

I think these will be viable only in places where the supporting infrastructure (both technical & civil/societal) is ready for leveraging these technologies. Self Driven technologies rely on that underlying infra and without that it will be almost useless. Even in developed countries, self drive on expressways/highways may come sooner than in cities.

Originally Posted by Nohonking

...Another point is, being electro-mechanicals, these can never be 100% foolproof leaving behind that 'fear factor'. Just a few days back I was reading the news on The Washington Post: "A driverless shuttle in Las Vegas got into a crash on the very maiden day of service".....

Yes. at the back of the mind, for now, the thought was always there while driving -- "what if..."

Originally Posted by deetjohn

............Compared to that, and if push comes to shove, level 4 and 5 are far better. But I guess there is no reaching 4 or 5, without crossing 2 and 3.

Actually, Toyota engineers told us that there is no need for linear progression. In may cases, companies etc may directly jump to level 4/5.

Originally Posted by BLACKBLADE

Guess it gives a twitchy feeling like sitting in the co-driver's seat while letting your young and inexperienced learner-driver friend/relative, drive your car. Always cautious and watchful and having to reach out to the steering to correct, in case he/she makes a not-so-absolutely-correct move.

Yeah. Very similar feeling!

[Hayek]

Level 5 automation is coming - soon. Technologically, we will be ready for it in 5 years. It will save tens of thousands of lives (that incompetent drivers cost) each year. It will also make traffic in cities like Bombay much smoother. The only question is will the legal framework permit it and make it economically viable - if people expect perfection from automated cars, especially when interacting with erratic and incompetent human drivers, deploying automation will be unviable for the auto industry. Let’s see how it goes.