Interoperable architecture between simulation and pilots for cooperative and automated driving

Abstract

In recent years many C-ITS innovation projects have been implemented and early commercial deployment is starting. Simultaneously, automated driving is gaining momentum. Both developments can benefit greatly from simulations for impact assessment. Previous projects struggled with using the same systems from the real-world in simulation and suffered from unrealistic driver behaviour with respect to C-ITS information supplied. The paper first presents a high-level system decomposition to determine the system boundaries and scope. This is followed by an intersection and vehicle specific hardware oriented architecture, which emphasizes where functionality specific for C-ITS and automated driving is implemented. Using that knowledge a simulation architecture was derived, explaining which components were not required or replaced by simulation specific ones. Lastly, different interfacing methods are discussed comparing them with respect to ease of use, compatibility and computational speed. This was all done keeping maximum compatibility between real-world and simulation systems while optimizing simulation speed.