Towards connected autonomous driving: review of use-cases

Connected autonomous vehicles are considered as mitigators of issues such as traffic congestion, road safety, inefficient fuel consumption and pollutant emissions that current road transportation system suffers from. Connected autonomous vehicles utilise communication systems to enhance the performance of autonomous vehicles and consequently improve transportation by enabling cooperative functionalities, namely, cooperative sensing and cooperative manoeuvring. The former refers to the ability to share and fuse information gathered from vehicle sensors and road infrastructures to create a better understanding of the surrounding environment while the latter enables groups of vehicles to drive in a co-ordinated way which ultimately results in a safer and more efficient driving environment. However, there is a gap in understanding how and to what extent connectivity can contribute to improving the efficiency, safety and performance of autonomous vehicles. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the potential benefits that can be achieved from connected autonomous vehicles through analysing five use-cases: (i) vehicle platooning, (ii) lane changing, (iii) intersection management, (iv) energy management and (v) road friction estimation. The current paper highlights that although connectivity can enhance the performance of autonomous vehicles and contribute to the improvement of current transportation system performance, the level of achievable benefits depends on factors such as the penetration rate of connected vehicles, traffic scenarios and the way of augmenting off-board information into vehicle control systems.     

城市道路环境下自动驾驶车辆接管绩效分析（双语出版）

为了分析城市道路环境下高度自动驾驶中非驾驶相关任务和接管紧迫度对接管绩效的影响,基于驾驶模拟器设计了自动驾驶紧急接管场景并开展驾驶模拟试验,接管请求时间分别设定为3,4,5 s,非驾驶相关任务为读新闻、看视频、玩游戏,自动驾驶车速为50 km·h^-1,试验中共招募了49名被试（男性30名,女性19名）,被试的平均年龄为31.06岁（标准差为7.1岁）,驾驶人在自动驾驶阶段始终执行非驾驶相关任务,听到接管请求提示后需要接管车辆的控制权,并实施紧急避让操作。研究结果表明：在紧急接管情况下,接管紧迫度对合成加速度和最小TTC有影响,而对接管时间无影响,与5 s的接管请求时间条件相比,3,4 s的接管请求时间条件下的合成加速度明显增加,而最小TTC则随接管请求时间的减少而降低;非驾驶相关任务对接管时间和最小TTC有影响,而对合成加速度无影响,与无非驾驶相关任务相比,非驾驶相关任务会显著增加接管时间和降低最小TTC;碰撞几乎都发生在3 s和4 s的接管请求时间下,5 s的接管请求时间能够基本保证接管的安全性。     

Consumer preferences for battery electric vehicles: A choice experimental survey in China

To accelerate the diffusion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), consumer preferences for different products and policy attributes must be determined. Although previous studies have investigated consumer preferences for some product attributes, including purchase price, operation cost, driving range, and charging time, limited studies have discussed the broader aspects of product attributes, such as battery warranty and depreciation rate. Moreover, market-oriented incentives, including the personal carbon trading (PCT) scheme and the tradable driving credits (TDC) scheme, can theoretically be effective alternatives to expensive purchase subsidies. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence that confirms the influence of these two schemes on BEV adoption. To fill these gaps, we conducted a stated preference choice experimental survey in China and investigated the effect of product attributes, existing policy incentives, and two emerging market-oriented incentives on BEV adoption. Our results reveal that along with the main product attributes, battery warranty has a significant positive effect on inducing mainstream consumers to adopt BEVs while no preference difference occurs among existing policy incentives after purchase subsidies are abolished. For young consumers, almost all incentives that reduce the operation cost (e.g., PCT) or increase convenience (e.g., TDC) can increase their adoption of BEVs. These findings can provide important implications for the government with regard to designing novel incentives and promoting BEV adoption.     

基于LSTM网络的驾驶意图识别及车辆轨迹预测

自动驾驶汽车需具备预测周围车辆轨迹的能力,以便做出合理的决策规划,提高行驶安全性和乘坐舒适性。运用深度学习方法,设计了一种基于长短时记忆（LSTM）网络的驾驶意图识别及车辆轨迹预测模型,该模型由意图识别模块和轨迹输出模块组成。意图识别模块负责识别驾驶意图,其利用Softmax函数计算出驾驶意图分别为向左换道、直线行驶、向右换道的概率;轨迹输出模块由编码器-解码器结构和混合密度网络（MDN）层组成,其中的编码器将历史轨迹信息编码为上下文向量,解码器结合上下文向量和已识别的驾驶意图信息预测未来轨迹;引入MDN层的目的是利用概率分布来表示车辆未来位置,而非仅仅预测一条确定的轨迹,以提高预测结果的可靠性和模型的鲁棒性。此外,将被预测车辆及其周围车辆组成的整体视为研究对象,使模型能够理解车-车间的交互式行为,响应交通环境的变化,动态地预测车辆位置。使用基于真实路况信息的NGSIM（Next Generation SIMulation）数据集对模型进行训练、验证与测试。研究结果表明：与传统的基于模型的方法相比,基于LSTM网络的轨迹预测方法在预测长时域轨迹上具有明显的优势,考虑交互式信息的意图识别模块具备更高的预判性和准确率,且基于意图识别的轨迹预测能降低预测轨迹与真实轨迹间的均方根误差,显著提高轨迹预测精度。     

Using on-board logging devices to study the longer-term impact of an eco-driving course

In this paper the long-term impact of an eco-driving training course is evaluated by monitoring driving behavior and fuel consumption for several months before and after the course. Cars were equipped with an on-board logging device that records the position and speed of the vehicle using GPS tracking as well as real time as electronic engine data extracted from the controller area network. The data includes mileage, number of revolutions per minute, position of the accelerator pedal, and instantaneous fuel consumption. It was gathered over a period of 10 months for 10 drivers during real-life conditions thus enabling an individual drive style analysis. The average fuel consumption four months after the course fell by 5.8%. Most drivers showed an immediate improvement in fuel consumption that was stable over time, but some tended to fall back into their original driving habits.     

Incorporating the extended theory of planned behavior in a school travel mode choice model: a case study of Shaoxing,China

Travel to and from school can have social, economic, and environmental implications for students and their parents. Therefore, understanding school travel mode choice behavior is essential to find policy-oriented approaches to optimizing school travel mode share. Recent research suggests that psychological factors of parents play a significant role in school travel mode choice behavior and the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model has been used to test the effect of psychological constructs on mode choice behavior. However, little research has used a systematic framework of behavioral theory to organize these psychological factors and investigate their internal relationships. This paper proposes an extended theory of planned behavior (ETPB) to delve into the psychological factors caused by the effects of adults’ cognition and behavioral habits and explores the factors’ relationship paradigm. A theoretical framework of travel mode choice behavior for students in China is constructed. We established the MIMIC model that accommodates latent variables from ETPB. We found that not all the psychological latent variables have significant effects on school travel mode choice behavior, but habit can play an essential role. The results provide theoretical support for demand policies for school travel.     

Daily activity and travel sequences of students,faculty and staff at a large Canadian university

This paper examines the activity engagement, sequencing and timing of activities for student, faculty and staff commuter groups at the largest university in the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The daily activity patterns of all university community groups are modeled using the classification and regression tree classifier algorithm. The data used for this study are derived from the Environmentally Aware Travel Diary Survey (EnACT) conducted in spring 2016 at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. Results show that there are significant differences in activity and travel behavior between university population segments and the general population in the region, and between campus groups. For example, students participate in more recreation activities compared to faculty and staff. They also take more trips to and from campus, and are more flexible in their scheduling of trips. The insights gained from this study will provide helpful information for promoting sustainability across university campuses, and for development of campus-based travel demand management strategies.     

Aggregating mobile object trajectories: cumulative time geographic density estimation for GPS data

We present new approaches that expand upon the time geographic density estimation (TGDE) framework previously employed to estimate potential path trees. In the past, TGDE metrics have identified possible locations an individual moving object may have passed between, given known origin and destination points. This paper utilizes a new form of TGDE to investigate taxicab GPS traces over a specified time horizon with position ‘gaps’. To this end, we propose a new extension to the TGDE framework, TGDE-C, which is used to determine the cumulative TGDE values for a group of GPS traces, at a given location. These metrics are applied to multiple taxis and allow for time of day analysis. Additionally, we combine these new extensions with existing TGDE metrics that allow us to determine how accessible individual or groups of vehicles are to urban opportunities.     

Impact of regional population density on walking behavior

Land use can influence walking (measured by the number of steps) and so the health of people. This paper presents the result of empirical research on the impact of regional population densities (inhabitants per inhabitable area) on the number of steps (all steps, both outdoors and indoors). With data collected from almost 11,000 respondents in 148 Japanese regions, we estimate polynomial regression models, the total number of steps being the dependent variable and densities being the main independent variable. Regional population density significantly affects the number of steps after controlling for individual and household attributes. The estimated population density that maximizes the number of steps is around 11,000?persons/km². Increasing densities, up to levels of around 11,000?inhabitants/km², could increase walking and consequently the health of inhabitants. The population density elasticity of the number of steps is 0.046–0.049 in a simple log linear regression model without a peak.     

钢板桩常规施工工艺及涂层受损问题

针对钢板桩施工问题,以马来西亚槟城吹填二期(STP2)工程为例,对Z型钢板沉桩机具选型及沉桩工艺进行研究。通过对比3种国外常用的钢板桩沉桩阻力估算方法及含导向架和无导向架施工的实际应用效果,优选出适合沉桩的振动锤型,并总结出两种沉桩方法的优劣性及适用情况,总结陆上钢板桩作业涂层常见受损问题及修复措施。