Earlier this week, on 26th July, the AUTOPILOT consortium, in cooperation with the CARTRE project, hosted its first webinar. In total, 66 people tuned in to learn about the AUTOPILOT project. The webinar consisted of four short presentations and a Q&A session to conclude the session.
AUTOPILOT project coordinator Mr François Fischer (ERTICO – ITS Europe) opened the webinar and introduced the project, explaining its objectives and the key issues the project aims to address. He then gave the floor to Mr Miodrag Djurica (TNO), whose presentation focused on the link between the Internet of Things (IoT) and automated driving. IoT is interesting for the field of automated driving, since it provides a platform where data can be collected and makes it possible to add value to information which is based on cross-domain data. By integrating the IoT platform into autonomous driving, it is possible to extend the perception range of the vehicle. Moreover, Mr Djurica also briefly presented the Alliance for the Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI), which works to support dialogue among actors involved in IoT across Europe.
The third presentation was given by Mr Paul van Koningsbruggen (Technolution), who emphasized the importance of experience sharing when integrating IoT into driving and making the vehicle a connected object. According to Mr van Koningsbruggen, agreements should be reached on the purpose of cities, suburbs, rural areas and the roads crossing these areas. IoT should be able to account for human nature and the ability of humans to change their minds from one moment to the next. IoT therefore needs to be able to adapt to the whims of the users.
Last but not least, Ms Stella Nikolaou (CERTH) spoke about the need to ensure safety in autonomous vehicles. Drawing on past examples with Google and Tesla cars, Ms Nikolaou showed that the system’s vigilance should be complementary to the driver’s vigilance, instead of the replacement for the driver’s role. When it comes to user acceptance, safety is the highest priority. Only then do users consider the perks of having more free time, less congestion, lower CO2 emissions, and lower insurance costs. Consequently, autonomous vehicles should be designed in such a way that they are able to safely and intuitively interact with other road users.
The webinar concluded with a short Q&A session. Participants were interested to find out whether there are any similar projects focusing on IoT and automated driving, what is the cooperation between AUTOPILOT and the Korean pilot scenario, and whether there are any plans for a follow-up to the project after it ends. There were also more technical questions regarding the AUTOPILOT architecture and deployment of automated driving in urban areas.
A full transcript of the Q&A session as well as the webinar presentations are now available in the AUTOPILOT Library.
