VIAC
Encyclopedia
VIAC, the VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge, is the challenge conceived by VisLab
as an extreme
test of
autonomous vehicles
.
It ran from July 26, 2010 to October 28, 2010, involving four driverless vehicles
driving with
virtually no human intervention on a 15,000 km trip from Parma
, Italy
to Shanghai
, China
.
issues related to sustainable mobility
were central to the Expo and this challenge of reaching
Shanghai with driverless vehicles provided a clear demonstration of future vehicles; it is considered
one of the main milestones in Robotics
.
VisLab
, thanks to a project partially funded by ERC -the European Research Council
- showed that one day it will be possible to move goods between two continents with non-polluting vehicles powered by green energy and with virtually no human intervention. Goods were packed in Parma
and taken to Shanghai
on driverless vehicles for the first time in history.
autonomous vehicles
in real traffic conditions on an extreme journey between two
continents, the final outcome being a huge dataset with a very large variety of situations to be further
used to refine the onboard perception system.
the length of the trip it was also impossible to check and test the route in advance. Therefore VisLab
defined the following behavior.
The first vehicle drove autonomously in selected sections of the trip, conducting experimental tests on
sensing
, decision
, and control
subsystems, and continuously collecting data.
Human interventions were needed on a regular basis to define the route and intervene in critical
situations.
The second vehicle automatically followed the route defined by the leader vehicle by
following it either visually or thanks to GPS waypoints sent by the leader vehicle, therefore
requiring no human intervention (100% autonomous). This is regarded as a readily exploitable vehicle,
able to move on predefined routes.
During the trip, demonstrations were scheduled in specific hot spots, showing autonomous vehicles following given routes, negotiating traffic, avoiding obstacles, and stopping when required. The first demonstration was held in Rome
at the EUR district on October 29, 2009, when Rome's Major, Gianni Alemanno, officially presented the VIAC challenge.
The last demonstration was given exactly one year later, on Oct 28, 2010,
in Shanghai
, China
, during a parade
at the World Expo, organized by the European Pavilion.
Important to note that, although the vehicles were electric and had solar panels on the roof,
propulsion was not powered by the solar panels but by the original vehicle's batteries which were
charged at power outlets or, when no power outlet was available, by generators. The solar panels
powered the autonomous driving system (sensors, processing engines, actuators, radios, GPS,..).
robotics, just like the DARPA Grand Challenge
in 2005 and the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007.
The vehicles collected about 50 terabytes of data to be used in the future for further processing
off-line.
trucks as a support. The expedition was therefore formed by 4 autonomous vehicles, 4 RVs, 3 trucks, and
occupied about 20 people for three months. A satellite link broadcasted live data and video streaming
for the whole duration of the trip (except in China) so that everybody on the Internet was able to
witness the progress of the experiment.
VisLab
The Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory of the University of Parma is the artificial vision research laboratory of University of Parma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione....
as an extreme
test of
autonomous vehicles
Intelligent car
Vehicle Automation involves the use of mechatronics and in particular, artificial intelligence to assist in the control of the vehicle, thereby relieving responsibilities from the driver or making a responsibility more manageable. These features and the vehicles employing them may be labeled as...
.
It ran from July 26, 2010 to October 28, 2010, involving four driverless vehicles
Driverless car
An autonomous car, also known as robotic or informally as driverless, is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the human transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating on its own...
driving with
virtually no human intervention on a 15,000 km trip from Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Overview
The 2010 World Expo's theme was “better cities, better life”; thereforeissues related to sustainable mobility
Mobility
Mobility may refer to:* Mobility * "Mobiliy" , a song by Moby* Mobility * Mobility , the ability of military units or weapon systems to move to an objective-See also:* Academic mobility* Apprentices mobility...
were central to the Expo and this challenge of reaching
Shanghai with driverless vehicles provided a clear demonstration of future vehicles; it is considered
one of the main milestones in Robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.
VisLab
VisLab
The Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory of the University of Parma is the artificial vision research laboratory of University of Parma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione....
, thanks to a project partially funded by ERC -the European Research Council
European Research Council
The European Research Council is the independent body that funds investigator-driven frontier research in the European Union . It is part of the Seventh Research Framework Programme ....
- showed that one day it will be possible to move goods between two continents with non-polluting vehicles powered by green energy and with virtually no human intervention. Goods were packed in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and taken to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
on driverless vehicles for the first time in history.
The idea
The aim was to test and stress the current technology in a unique event: non-polluting and non-oil basedautonomous vehicles
Driverless car
An autonomous car, also known as robotic or informally as driverless, is an autonomous vehicle capable of fulfilling the human transportation capabilities of a traditional car. As an autonomous vehicle, it is capable of sensing its environment and navigating on its own...
in real traffic conditions on an extreme journey between two
continents, the final outcome being a huge dataset with a very large variety of situations to be further
used to refine the onboard perception system.
Technical details
The trip traversed remote areas in Russia, Kazakhstan, and China, for which no map was available; due tothe length of the trip it was also impossible to check and test the route in advance. Therefore VisLab
VisLab
The Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory of the University of Parma is the artificial vision research laboratory of University of Parma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione....
defined the following behavior.
The first vehicle drove autonomously in selected sections of the trip, conducting experimental tests on
sensing
Sensing
Sensing is the present participle of the verb sense. It may also refer to:* Myers-Briggs sensing, a cognitive function that focuses on the tangible and concrete over the abstract and theoretical...
, decision
Decision
A decision is the selection between possible actions.A choice is the selection between two or more objects.The term decision may refer to:* Judgment , as the outcome of a legal case...
, and control
Control system
A control system is a device, or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or system.There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and combinations: logic or sequential controls, and feedback or linear controls...
subsystems, and continuously collecting data.
Human interventions were needed on a regular basis to define the route and intervene in critical
situations.
The second vehicle automatically followed the route defined by the leader vehicle by
following it either visually or thanks to GPS waypoints sent by the leader vehicle, therefore
requiring no human intervention (100% autonomous). This is regarded as a readily exploitable vehicle,
able to move on predefined routes.
During the trip, demonstrations were scheduled in specific hot spots, showing autonomous vehicles following given routes, negotiating traffic, avoiding obstacles, and stopping when required. The first demonstration was held in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
at the EUR district on October 29, 2009, when Rome's Major, Gianni Alemanno, officially presented the VIAC challenge.
The last demonstration was given exactly one year later, on Oct 28, 2010,
in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, during a parade
at the World Expo, organized by the European Pavilion.
Important to note that, although the vehicles were electric and had solar panels on the roof,
propulsion was not powered by the solar panels but by the original vehicle's batteries which were
charged at power outlets or, when no power outlet was available, by generators. The solar panels
powered the autonomous driving system (sensors, processing engines, actuators, radios, GPS,..).
Worldwide Milestone and Data Analysis
The VisLab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge is considered a unique milestone in vehicularrobotics, just like the DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
in 2005 and the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007.
The vehicles collected about 50 terabytes of data to be used in the future for further processing
off-line.
Organization and Logistics
The logistics were managed by Overland Network, which provided 4 RVs (motor homes) and 3 additionaltrucks as a support. The expedition was therefore formed by 4 autonomous vehicles, 4 RVs, 3 trucks, and
occupied about 20 people for three months. A satellite link broadcasted live data and video streaming
for the whole duration of the trip (except in China) so that everybody on the Internet was able to
witness the progress of the experiment.
See also
- DARPA Grand ChallengeDARPA Grand ChallengeThe DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
- DARPA Grand Challenge (2007)DARPA Grand Challenge (2007)The third driverless car competition of the DARPA Grand Challenge, was commonly known as the DARPA Urban Challenge. It took place on November 3, 2007 at the site of the now-closed George Air Force Base , in Victorville, California , in the West of the United States...
- VisLabVisLabThe Artificial Vision and Intelligent Systems Laboratory of the University of Parma is the artificial vision research laboratory of University of Parma, Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione....
- GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
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