From Simulation to Vehicle: End-to-End Lidar-AEB Development for a Level 5 Car

The entire development chain from desktop simulation to implementation in the vehicle is necessary for the development of automated driving functions. Based on an automatic emergency braking function (AEB) with a lidar sensor, all of these sub-areas were integrated into a generic Simulink^® model for use in automated vehicles. After basic commissioning in a 3D simulation, the hardware (lidar) can be gradually switched on. The final test to optimize the function is carried out in driving tests in various test vehicles and typical situations (e.g., car-to-pedestrian collision scenario). The lidar sensor can be integrated in the model in two different ways. The existing real-time interface for Simulink can be used for lidars from the Ouster company. The necessary cycle times of 0.1 s can be easily achieved with a normal notebook. If lidar sensors from other manufacturers are to be used, the Simulink model must be connected via an ROS interface. The advantage is that basic processing of the point cloud can be done separately and only the relevant points in the Simulink model need to be processed. The development is used both for teaching and in a research project for type approval of autonomous cars. Therefore, the developed function is used in a level 4 vehicle (converted BMW i3 with special approval) for the development and testing of the daily operating release as a test application. This release will be necessary for level 5 vehicles according to German law. In this session, see the overall model presented using the simulation, followed by a demonstration on the test field at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTWD).