Bosch Backs ‘Step-by-Step’ Approach to Autonomous Cars, NHTSA Meeting Told

Bosch believes “the next step on the path toward highly automated driving is the rollout of partially automated Level 2 systems to a larger vehicle population,” Meuwissen said. The Level 2 classification, contained with others in a May 2013 NHTSA policy statement on the various functional gradations of automated driving, applies to vehicles in which at least two controls can be automated in unison, such as adaptive cruise control in combination with lane-keeping. “This type of partial automation has already been introduced to the market, but greater penetration is necessary for market acceptance and trust,” said Meuwissen.

Bosch sees cars with “Level 3 functionality” making their debut in 2020 “on highways and highway-like roads,” said Meuwissen. Level 3 in the NHTSA classifications applies to vehicles in which the driver is able to fully cede control to the car’s robotics, but whose sensors require the driver to retake control, if necessary, and with "sufficiently comfortable transition time," the 2013 policy statement said.

Creating federal operational guidelines on autonomous vehicles is “not an easy task,” and Bosch “acknowledges” the challenges, Meuwissen said. "For example, a Level 3 conditional-automation system may provide advanced capabilities for highway driving, but is not intended for use in urban environments,” she said. “Further innovations will provide different possibilities for the detection of operational boundaries,” so Bosch wants NHTSA-drafted regulations to be “technology-neutral,” she said.

That “various environmental conditions affect the performance of different types of sensors” needed for autonomous driving is a big technological hurdle, Meuwissen said. “Typically, fog, heavy rain, blinding sunshine and snow all influence the performance of video technologies” embedded in those sensors, she said. “Similarly, ice and dirt accumulation can influence the performance of all technologies,” including the radar waveforms that are the basis of collision-avoidance systems, she said. “But some sensors may have heating elements or washers, which could reduce ice or dirt accumulation. NHTSA should consider whether or not sensors should be capable of performing self-diagnostics and detecting such low-performance conditions.”

The “promise” of autonomous vehicles is “significant,” Mark Golden, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), told the meeting. “Fully proven autonomous vehicle technology offers the potential to significantly enhance the quality of life in the United States,” he said. But “there remains a significant amount of work to be done before achieving the ultimate goal of an environment in which human-operated and autonomous vehicles can safely share the roadways,” he said. Licensed professional engineers who belong to the NSPE “have taken a very strong interest in the development of guidelines” on autonomous vehicles at the state level, “most recently in Nevada and California,” he said.

The development of autonomous vehicles “is as historic and epic-making as the first introduction of motorized vehicles themselves in the 19th century,” Golden said. “Autonomous vehicles and intelligent road systems are areas of innovation that require attention now while the technology is still emergent.” But “even at these early stages, there is reason for concern over a potential for fundamental conflict between the diverse approaches that the various states, localities and federal agencies are considering in approaching autonomous vehicles,” he said.

The need for “transparency in this process cannot be overstated,” Golden said of NHTSA’s efforts to draft federal operational guidelines on driverless cars and the regulations that are to follow. “An open and transparent collaborative involvement of federal, state and local regulators, industry and the public will enhance, not diminish, the economic performance and speed of deployment for manufacturers.”

Technologically, autonomous vehicles will need fail-safe measures “to better address changes in vehicular traffic, both from other autonomous vehicles and non-autonomous vehicles,” Golden said. Above all, they must “allow for a 360-degree perspective” for safely interacting with other vehicular and pedestrian traffic, he said. He recalled that in a recent meeting with state regulators, “a member of industry argued that sensors that were aware of what was going on behind the vehicle were unnecessary, because as long as our car could avoid running into anything, what’s going on behind it will take care of itself.” Said Golden: “That exhibits a fundamental lack of appreciation for the realities of traffic moving on our roadways.”

Members of NPSE want to “commend” the commitment to safety that manufacturers and autonomous vehicle developers “have demonstrated,” Golden said. “However, a century of experience in a multitude of engineering fields has proven that the protection of public health, safety and welfare is best served when there is someone in the decision chain who does not face pressures from shareholders or non-technical management in order to meet budget and project time lines or sales projections,” he said. “Public safety is best served when there is someone in the decision chain who has a duty that overrides competitive pressures to be first to market or surpass other manufacturers’ offerings.”

The potential threat that terrorist groups or individuals would use autonomous vehicles as weapons is the “elephant in the room” that no one is talking about, said another speaker at the meeting. James Niles, president of Orbit City Lab, urged NHTSA to “require that all autonomous vehicles have sensors inside to perform a sniff test for hazardous or WMD material, and once detected, disable certain features,” he said of weapons of mass destruction. Niles described Orbit City Lab as a New York startup “solving the ‘what if?’ of tomorrow’s technology.”

As a terrorist weapon, Niles sees the driverless car as “sort of a drone on wheels,” he said. It's a danger that “has gone unnoticed by the general public, and probably by a majority of government officials,” Niles said. “Mitigating” against such threats “is best applied in the planning stage, which is where we are now” on autonomous vehicles, he said. “The autonomous vehicle industry shouldn’t be allowed to avoid regulations or achieve exemptions when it comes to security,” he said. “If NHTSA does not require that autonomous vehicles have sensors to sniff out hazardous materials and disable autonomous features once detected, you might as well start working on a speech that you will have to give to the world the day after an incident happens.” NHTSA officials in the room didn't respond.