Simulation-based and field tests for evaluating multi-dimensional performances of intelligent connected vehicles

Research Project, 2021 – 2023

Intelligent connected vehicles (ICV) based on advanced telematics and vehicular technologies have great potentials to innovate the current transport systems to be safer, smarter, and more sustainable. A vital question remains to be answered is how safe are ICVs? Even with the thousands of miles of testing by Tesla and Waymo, challenges still exist that require more systematic solutions to quantify the performances of ICVs in various and risky scenarios, as well as to develop solutions from the perspectives of ICVs and road environments. The best way to do performance evaluations is through field tests. Nonetheless, not only the field test sites for ICVs are scarce, but also conducting field tests is time and resource consuming, and may not always capture the interesting use cases and some highly risky scenarios. One of the potential solutions is an appropriate combination of advanced simulation and field tests customized for the repeated and iterative study of various cases and verification of algorithms for ICVs. However, such a platform and empirical tests for evaluating performances of ICVs in mixed road environments are lacking.

This project addresses this knowledge deficit and conducts a joint simulation and field study. The first step is to conduct simulation studies leveraging the advanced simulation platforms for testing the performance of ICVs in various use cases and risky scenarios. By iterations over simulations of numerous use cases, the perception and control algorithms of ICVs can be updated and improved. Afterward, field tests will be conducted based on the specification for realistic testing in closed and open testing roads located in the test sites in Sweden and Shanghai of China. The field tests cover complicated traffic environments and all types of transport infrastructure including freeways crossings, arterials, collectors, and ring roads. The research contents develop emerging simulation methods and conduct empirical field tests regarding the performances of ICVs in mixed road environments and various use cases. These are prerequisites for improving the algorithms of ICVs and customized road environments to mitigate the risks of ICVs in the future.

This project is jointly funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency - Vinnova and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. The project will last for three years from Sep 2021 to Aug 2023. Relevant partners include RISE Viktoria, Tongji University, WSP AB, and FellowBot. The total budget for this project is approximately 1.5 million SEK including public funding and matchup funding from both countries. This project belongs to international major research collaboration between Sweden and China on research, development and innovation in the areas of life science, traffic safety and applied ICT.