Virtual concept development on the example of a motorway chauffeur

Abstract

It is well known that the development of future automated driving faces big challenges regarding testing and validation. One strategy to tackle the drastically increased complex interaction of vehicle, driver, and environment is the so-called front-loading approach. This involves virtual development of new vehicle functions enabling early stage testing and validation. Within the funded project Technology Concepts for Advanced Highly Automated Driving (TECAHAD), this front-loading approach was applied for a concept development of an automated driving system (ADS)—the Motorway Chauffeur (MWC)—fully responsible for longitudinal and lateral motion of a car on motorways. In the following, we provide an insight on early stage virtual development of this ADS. Topics range from high-level requirements and functional safety investigations to software architecture and major components of the virtual implementation. Finally, first simulation results are shown for some MWC use cases, motivating the planned future real vehicle prototype implementation.