Opel Demonstrates Cooperative Highly Automated Driving

Opel Test Center hosts final presentation of German research project Ko-HAF

Opel Insignia prototype at the Opel Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen.

Opel has successfully demonstrated a future that promises fewer traffic accidents and freedom for the driver to read, write or relax instead of continuously monitoring the car. The automaker is part of Ko-HAF – “Kooperatives hochautomatisiertes Fahren” – a German project researching cooperative highly automated driving, which began in June 2015. The Opel Insignia prototype displayed the functions of cooperative highly automated driving during the presentation of Ko-HAF’s final results at the Opel Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen.

What is highly automated driving ? Driver does not have to monitor the journey constantly, but must be able to take the wheel with time to spare if required.

Cooperative highly automated driving systems do not need to be supervised by the driver all the time. Drivers can perform other tasks, but when prompted by the system they must be able to take control of the vehicle within a certain time period. The vehicle must therefore be able to “see” further ahead than possible with its own sensors. In Ko-HAF, vehicles send information about their current road environment, such as construction sites, traffic jams and accidents, to a Safety Server. The information is collected and processed by the Safety Server, so that a precise map is available to vehicles when they request it – like an artificial horizon that delivers a highly detailed preview of the road ahead.

Test vehicle, an Insignia Sports Tourer, is armed with an array of cameras and sensors. In the trunk a battery of computers handles communications, records the vehicle’s location, and calculates driving maneuvers in real time. 

Opel’s role in Ko-HAF focused on the computerized maps and the process of disengaging the car from the automated driving condition, thus returning control to the driver. The engineers from Rüsselsheim designed the architecture, interfaces and protocols of the Safety Server, which were evaluated in the project.

An additional core-task was the development of a self-localization method for the vehicle. Opel designed algorithms for visual mapping and localization which are merged with information from back-end and onboard maps, onboard sensors and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The localization method was validated on the Opel Insignia test car at the Opel Test Center and on the Ko-HAF test route on the motorways around Frankfurt am Main.

Opel’s second area of focus concerned the driver’s actions, so-called non-driving tasks. The company’s engineers developed software and a system of sensors to detect and classify the driver’s actions while the car is driving automatically.

!NEW! Cooperative Highly Automated Driving: Opel Partners “Ko-HAF” Research Initiative

• Safety first: Communication between the “Ko-HAF”-safety server and the car
• Driving on the Autobahn: Opel will build a prototype for highly automated driving

Prototype planned: Opel will build a prototype that can display the essential functions of cooperative highly automated driving on the Autobahn.

Any driver who spends a lot of time in the car often wonders if this time could be used more efficiently, for example, by reading the newspaper, doing emails, or simply enjoying the ride. Cars that drive automatically, which do not require permanent control from the driver, would make such dreams reality.

Among the major challenges to automated driving are the highly detailed, computerized maps (so that the car knows exactly about the road it is driving down) and the process of disengaging the car from the automated driving condition, thus returning control to the driver.

These are two areas of automated driving being studied intensively by Opel in “Ko-HAF – Kooperatives hochautomatisiertes Fahren”, a German project researching cooperative highly automated driving.

Experts estimate that it takes about ten seconds for a human being to turn his attention from another activity to driving. A car that drives automatically must therefore be able to recognize the driving environment and assess the traffic situation within that time-period.

In order to make an accurate assessment, the car also needs significantly more information that it can obtain from its sensors and the map of the onboard navigation system.

This is where “Ko-HAF” and Opel come in with their research into a back-end solution called the Safety Server. In “Ko-HAF”, cars communicate with the Safety Server, supplying data such as presence and quality of lane markings or objects on the road from their own onboard sensors. The Safety Server processes this information and then provides the cars with a forward-looking digital map, which the cars need for highly automated driving.

Opel is working especially on the communication between server and car – e.g. designing the server-architecture, defining the interfaces and implementing the communication protocols.

Opel’s second area of focus concerns the driver’s actions. The company’s engineers are developing software and a system of sensors to detect and categorize the driver’s actions while the car is driving automatically.

In order to predict how the driver might react when he or she must retake control, the correlation between driving situations and the driver’s actions inside the car is of special interest.

An additional core-task is the development of a self-localization process for the vehicle. Opel is designing algorithms for visual mapping and localization which are then merged with information from back-end and onboard maps, movement sensors and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

Opel will build a prototype that can display the essential functions of cooperative highly automated driving on the Autobahn, i.e. automatically entering the Autobahn and merging with the traffic, driving on the Autobahn including over-taking maneuvers, and finally exiting the Autobahn automatically.

Initially Opel will test and validate the prototype hardware and the highly automated driving functionality on a proving ground. Testing will continue on public roads as soon as the prototype technology has reached a sufficiently advanced stage.

The “Ko-HAF” research initiative began in June 2015 and will run until November 2018. The project has a budget totaling 36.3 million euros and is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economy and Energy.

!NEW! GM and Opel reveal groundbreaking technology for automated driving

• GM to put its first V2V-enabled car on the road in about two years
• Opel Insignia demonstrates low speed and highway speed automated driving 

Opel Insignia Research Vehicle: Demonstrates low speed and highway speed automated driving

General Motors and Opel are demonstrating their commitment to the future of automated driving and connected mobility at the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress (September 7-11) by showcasing an Opel Insignia research vehicle, an automated Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 concept vehicle and a Chevrolet Cruze equipped with vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) connectivity.

“GM will put its first V2V-enabled car on the road in about two years. What’s more I am announcing that we will bring an advanced, highly-automated driving technology to the market in the same time frame,” said GM CEO Mary Barra.

“At GM, we have a renewed passion, the financial resources, the technology and the talent to think big, to step up our investments and take calculated risks. I am listening to customers and they want unfettered personal mobility. They expect us to help mitigate if not eliminate the congestion, pollution and traffic accidents. To me, these aren’t noble causes but imperatives,” continued Barra.

Opel Insignia Research Vehicle

An Opel Insignia will demonstrate intelligent and connected technologies on the south side of the city island. This vehicle, equipped with cameras, LiDAR sensors (Light Detection And Ranging), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies, demonstrates a future vehicle that can handle both low-speed, stop-and-go city driving and highway-speed automated driving.

For automated driving: Opel Insignia equipped with cameras, Lidar sensors, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies

The six LiDAR sensors in the bumpers of the Insignia constantly use light scanning to identify objects around the car. The forward pointing camera on top of the car reads lane markings and detects other objects. The V2V and V2I technologies located in an antenna on top of the car work to communicate with other objects that the vehicle encounters. The car also uses GPS satellite to constantly remain aware of its position on the roadways. All of these inputs are fused through GM’s sensor fusion technology to enable 360 degrees of awareness and object detection.

EN-V 2.0 Concept

The Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V) 2.0 showcases the latest in intelligent and connected automotive technologies. After debuting the original two-wheeled EN-V concept in 2010 at Shanghai World Expo, this iteration offers a four-wheeled drive system that combines cameras, Lidar and V2X to offer a hands-free, low-speed electric driving experience.

Chevrolet Electric Networked-Vehicle (EN-V) 2.0 

The EN-V 2.0 has many of the same technologies that power the Opel Insignia research vehicle at low speeds. The small electric concept vehicle, however, is built strictly for low speeds. The EN-V 2.0 and the Opel Insignia research vehicle will interact on the same road on Belle Isle.

Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) Technology Demonstration

GM is demonstrating other potential uses of V2X communication technology by presenting a Chevrolet Cruze equipped with vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication technology.

 Chevrolet Cruze with V2X technology 

At Belle Isle, mock construction sites are set up on the road course, and participants will be driven in the Cruze toward the work areas. Mannequin “workers” in the construction area are blocked from the view of the driver and passengers, however, they are equipped with arm bands that communicate their location to the oncoming Cruze via warning lights blinking on the “head’s up” windshield display. In the future, V2P communication technology could be integrated into more aspects of pedestrian life, enhancing driver awareness of pedestrians.

“Being at the vanguard, we clearly have a lot of work ahead of us. But we will put the time to good use by accelerating our R&D and vehicle engineering efforts, engaging with regulators around the world and most importantly, talking to the customers,” concluded Barra.