Localization & Mapping Requirements for Level 2+ Autonomous Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the localization and mapping requirements across SAE Levels 2 to 5 autonomous vehicles, providing a framework for system design, safety, and feature support in diverse environments.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive framework for understanding localization and mapping needs at different autonomy levels, including system decomposition and safety considerations.

Findings

Localization requirements vary significantly across SAE levels.

Redundancy and integrity are critical for safety at higher autonomy levels.

Recommendations for positioning and map georeferencing improve system reliability.

Abstract

Autonomous vehicles are being deployed with a spectrum of capability, extending from driver assistance features for the highway in personal vehicles (SAE Level 2+) to fully autonomous fleet ride sharing services operating in complex city environments (SAE Level 4+). This spectrum of autonomy often operates in different physical environments with different degrees of assumed driver in-the-loop oversight and hence have very different system and subsystem requirements. At the heart of SAE Level 2 to 5 systems is localization and mapping, which ranges from road determination for feature geofencing or high-level routing, through lane determination for advanced driver assistance, to where-in-lane positioning for full vehicle control. We assess localization and mapping requirements for different levels of autonomy and supported features. This work provides a framework for system decomposition, including the level of redundancy needed to achieve the target level of safety. We examine several representative autonomous and assistance features and make recommendations on positioning requirements as well map georeferencing and information integrity.