SBIR Phase II: Autonomous active safety systems for verifiably safe operation of ground vehicles

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响将通过创建一种新的、更方便的“海陵车”交通方式来解决叫车和汽车租赁市场之间的差距。基于车辆安全和车队物流方面的技术进步，海陵技术有可能产生直接和理想的社会影响，包括：更公平的运输，可以提高生活质量和降低生活成本;由于更有效地利用车队，减少个人拥有车辆和减少污染;集中管理的停车场，可以为最需要的行人，住房和企业腾出土地;由于需要远程人类车辆操作员，因此创造了大量就业机会。这些社会和环境效益也直接转化为美国经济竞争力的提高：为工人提供更公平和更方便的交通运输使企业能够在全球市场上更成功地竞争，生活质量和工资机会的改善导致工人生产率的提高。这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将通过进一步开发和改进机器人控制、感知和安全工程方面的先前进展，帮助实现车辆远程操作技术和服务的可扩展商业部署。第二阶段研究有两个主要目标。首先是开发安全工程方面的新技术和方法，以实现大规模公共道路部署车辆远程操作技术所需的系统测试和安全保证。第二是修改和改进第一阶段项目开发的新型控制和感知技术，以满足公司安全工程进步带来的新要求。第二阶段研究的结果将包括机器人控制和感知能力，这些能力将大大提高最先进的水平，以及一套新的安全工程实践和方法，可以作为新兴行业的车辆远程操作和自动驾驶汽车安全的基础。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的支持。知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from addressing the gap between the ride hail and vehicle rental markets via the creation of a new, more accessible “car hailing” mode of transportation. Based on technical advancements in vehicle safety and fleet logistics, car hailing technology offers the potential for direct and desirable social impacts, including: more equitable transportation that can improve quality of life and decrease cost of living; less personal vehicle ownership and less pollution as a result of more efficient vehicle fleet utilization; centralized, managed parking, which could free land for pedestrians, housing, and businesses precisely where it is needed most; and significant job creation due to the need for remote human vehicle operators. These societal and environmental benefits also directly translate into increased economic competitiveness of the United States: more equitable and available transportation for workers enables businesses to compete more successfully in the global markets, and improved quality of life and wage opportunities leads to more productive workers.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will help enable scalable commercial deployment of vehicle teleoperation technology and services by further developing and improving previous advances in robotics control, perception, and safety engineering. There are two primary objectives for the Phase II research. The first is to develop new techniques and methodologies in safety engineering that will enable the systematic testing and safety assurances necessary for large-scale public road deployments of vehicle teleoperation technology. The second is to revise and improve the novel control and perception technologies developed during the Phase I project to satisfy new requirements derived from the company’s safety engineering advances. The results of the Phase II research will include robotics control and perception capabilities that significantly advance the state of the art, as well as a new set of safety engineering practices and methodologies that could serve as a foundation for the emerging industry of vehicle teleoperation and autonomous vehicle safety.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.