Exploring an extension of the operational design domain of a connected autonomous vehicle using a camera based positioning system

Abstract: Autonomous vehicles rely on perceiving the environment using on-board sensor. These sensors have inherent limitations in terms of their effective range and risk occlusion due to their placement in the environment. These constraints limit the operational design domain of autonomous vehicles due to reliability and safety concerns. This report aims to show how an off-board sensor can be used as a complement to a vehicles on-board sensors. The goal of this sensor complement is to achieve an extension of the vehicle’s operational design domain and to relax constraints on the on-board sensors. Off-board sensors are less constrained in terms of sensor placement and allow for a more optimized location to perceive the environment. An autonomous vehicle is implemented and limitations in terms of sensing range and reliability is analyzed. An off-board camera based positioning system is also implemented and tested together with the autonomous vehicle in order to explore how an extension of the sensing range can be achieved. The extension of the operational design domain is tested by implementing a lane merge scenario which utilize both on and off-board sensor information. The lane merge scenario is also tested using different types of radio communication, namely 4G hotspot, 5G and wifi. The results of the lane merge scenario indicate that it is possible to achieve a range extension using an off-board sensor and thereby allow for a possible extension of the operational design domain of the autonomous vehicle. Although a range extension is possible, sending off-board sensor data over wireless radio raises questions on how applicable the solution is considering safety requirements in the automotive industry.