Autonomous Road Vehicles at Disasters: Threat or Solution?

Kurzfassung

Autonomous (SAE Level 4, L4) vehicles must be able to handle all possible situations within their Operational Design Domain (ODD). In regular traffic, this includes the correct interaction with emergency services. While there have been several reported incidents related to wrong interaction of autonomous vehicles with emergency services in the beginning, first L4 brands now validated that their vehicles behave according to best practice emergency response guidelines. Nevertheless, these validations focus on isolated emergency situations only. When it comes to large-scale emergency situations, disasters or (cyber-) attacks, these solutions are insufficient. In such cases, autonomous vehicles on the one hand can aggravate the situation, e.g. when several of them are failing to operate (correctly) at the same time. On the other hand, autonomous vehicles can serve as helping instrument for emergency services, when they are applied properly. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of potential hazards and anticipated benefits of autonomous vehicles. It also presents first possible recommendations for an advantageous application.