Teaching Cars to Drive: Spotlight on Connected and Automated Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current state, challenges, and future potential of connected and automated vehicles, emphasizing simulation, testing, and modeling techniques, and provides educational resources for newcomers.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive overview of CAVs, discusses practical research challenges, and introduces accessible modeling methods with an open-source tutorial.

Findings

CAVs have significant safety and efficiency benefits.

Simulation and testing are key challenges in CAV research.

An open-source tutorial aids new researchers in modeling CAVs.

Abstract

In recent decades, society has witnessed significant advancements in emerging mobility systems. These systems refer to transportation solutions that incorporate digital technologies, automation, connectivity, and sustainability to create safer, more efficient, and user-centered mobility. Examples include connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), shared mobility services (car-pooling), electric vehicles, and mobility-as-a-service platforms. These innovations have the potential to greatly impact areas such as safety, pollution, comfort, travel time, and fairness. In this article, we explore the current landscape of CAVs. We discuss their role in daily life and their future potential, while also addressing the challenges they may introduce. Following, we also examine the practical difficulties in research associated with CAVs especially simulating and testing CAV-related algorithms in real-world settings. We present existing solutions that aim to overcome these limitations. Finally, we provide an accessible introduction to modeling CAVs using basic kinematic principles and offer an open-source tutorial to help interested students begin exploring the field.