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Model S Redesign Chances: Reality Check

July 19, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

Being one of the top-selling electric cars, Tesla Model S has a lot in its credentials. Model S was first launched in 2012 as a fully electric sedan car. As of now, its Long-Range variant has an EPA range of 402 miles, which is higher than any other electric car. This was reported in many publications and was also confirmed by Elon Musk in his tweet. As far as the performance of Model S is concerned, it has the quickest acceleration capability. It is capable of achieving a speed jump of 0-60 mph in just 2.3 seconds. Being equipped with the dual motors, Model S is an All-wheel-drive variant that lets it keeps torque and traction under control. Other exciting features of Model S include the top speed of 163 mph, autopilot, 12 ultrasonic sensors to ensure collision-free driving, 17-inch driver display, 100 kWh battery size, seating capacity of five adults, and over the air updates. Altogether, Model S offers what one would like to have in the 21^st century’s electric car. There are some speculations about Model S redesign in the new Model S 2020. To have a clear view about any Model S refresh chances, let’s have a thorough look over recent changes and the probability of any further redesign modifications.

Recent Model S Refresh Upgrades

Since 2012, the year when the first Model S was launched, Tesla S has gone through a lot of changes. However, it won’t be wrong to say that though only a few modifications were made since its inception, but still, Model S hasn’t experienced the full redesigning or what one would typically call as Model S redesign.

Following are some of the changes or modifications that have been done for Model S over the last five years:

Ludicrous Mode: Tesla introduced the ludicrous mode in the Model S in the year 2015. With this ludicrous mode, 0-60 mph was brought down to just 2.8 seconds. This feature was made available with a whopping price tag of $10,000.
Launch Mode: Launch mode was introduced in 2015, allowing Model S to acquire quicker acceleration right from the starting line.
Front Grille: In 2016, Tesla removed the faux-front grille and gave Model S a cleaner and smoother outlook. This upgrade gave Model S the impression that of a facelift.
Glass Roof: In 2016, Tesla introduced three roof options for prospective buyers which included painted roof, solid glass roof, and panoramic roof.
Performance Improvements: The year 2017 brought a lot of performance improvements for the Tesla Model S. The 60 KWh battery option was discontinued. This performance improvement must not be confused with the already introduced ludicrous mode. The ludicrous mode was available at the premium price, whereas these performance changes were made in the base version. With these changes, the 0-60 mph acceleration time for Model S75 dropped to 4.3 whereas the time for S75D dropped to 4.2 seconds. Moreover, the time frame for achieving the same acceleration jump for Model S100D was modified to be around 4.1 seconds. In addition to this, the range of 90D improved to 294 miles, whereas that of P90D was increased to about 270 miles. With these series of software and hardware improvements, power liftgate and glass roof became a standard in Tesla S cars.
Simplified Product Offerings: With the base idea of simplified product offerings, Tesla discontinued many earlier options in the year 2018. Some of the 2018 changes include removal of a panoramic sunroof, removal of black interior, removal of back child seat along with 21-inches black arachnid wheels. Furthermore, they also discontinued referral programs.
Improved Range and Battery Size: In 2019, Tesla S was launched with an enhanced battery size of 100 KWh. While the first version of Tesla S had an EPA range of 265 miles, the 2019’s Long Range variant was capable of driving up to 370 miles in one full charge. In addition to this, low rolling resistance tires were also introduced.
Raven: Tesla S has recently got into a powertrain reconfiguration named as “Raven”. In this reconfiguration, battery upgradation along with featuring rear motor as that of Tesla 3 was done. With this reconfiguration, both Long Range and Performance variants can provide more range per full charging. As per the EPA reports, with the raven power train, a Long-range variant was able to drive up to 391 miles, whereas Elon Musk rejected this figure. According to Elon Musk, EPA tests were faulty and Tesla S has been reconfigured to reach the range of 400 miles. However, in addition to motor upgradation, this reconfiguration also equipped Model S with the new adaptive air suspension. This air suspension system is still adjustable as per the user’s input. For example, a driver can tell the car to lower its suspension so as to reduce its coefficient of drag on the highway. This adaptive air suspension now additionally features damping modes namely Comfort, Standard, and Sporting.

Chances of Model S Redesign

There had been a lot of rumors about Model S redesign. Some people said that the new Model S 2020 will feature a lot of hardware as well as software modifications. There were speculations that the new Model S 2020 version will include a wireless device charger, a new set of two batteries, changes in car’s interior, modified charging ports, and a redesigned suspension. However, these rumors burst out when Elon Musk himself tweeted that no such Model S redesigns are under consideration. In his tweet, he categorically said that only minor changes are done, therefore no Model S refresh version is planned or being launched. These minor changes are related to interior modifications or some minor hardware/software upgradation. For example, Tesla has been reporting to test Model S and X with some new battery architectures.

Why Tesla is Reluctant to bring Major Changes in Model S?

There are many reasons for which Tesla is reluctant to bring any major changes or a Model S redesign. First of all, since Tesla is not an ordinary automobile manufacturer, so it will not follow what others used to do with their old models, i.e., redesigning. Secondly, Tesla is focusing more on launching the production of Model Y and 3S to the overseas markets. So, in such a situation, spending on model S redesigning would sound nothing but a matter of extravagance. Moreover, even though model S will be redesigned, it would still be a sedan with no substantial changes in range. This is so because nothing prominent has been achieved so far in improving battery technology. So, investing just on some exterior and interior touchups would not reward Tesla with much cost benefits. Secondly, the current Model S design and specification already seem catchy and make it dominant the EV industry significantly.

Conclusion

Model S has been the identity of Tesla for quite long. Though its sale has declined over the past few years, still it is amongst the top five electric cars in terms of sale. Traditionally, it has been seen that after a couple of years, automobile manufacturers tend to redesign the old model with a couple of interiors, exterior, and featural upgrades. But, for the CEO like Elon Musk, conventionality is a matter of disliking. Under the forward-looking leadership of Mr. Musk, rather than relying on product legacies, Tesla is looking forward to touching down new EV horizons. With the official denial from him, there is no doubt that apart from minor changes, Model S redesign is nothing but a rumor. New Model S 2020 is featuring some minor changes, but those aspiring for major changes, it’s better to look at other amazing Tesla cars.

References

5 Ways to Demonstrate Agile Leadership in Virtual Environments

July 15, 2020 0 Comments read Agile Leadership

Agile in a broader perspective is an acronym for a mindset rather than a methodology. Agile is a mindset of rigorous collaborations, welcoming new ideas, redefining working norms, embracing change, increased customer-centric approaches, and most importantly, an effective way to optimize product life cycles. In a nutshell, agile is a paradigm of making complex things streamlined. Rigorous team meetings and co-located working spaces are an essential part of the agile implementation. But with the spread of COVID-19, agile has entered the regime of remote working. Owing to its attribute of embracing change and adapting to new technological horizons, agile has pretty much got fit into remote working. However, since adaptability always comes with the additional time cost, so same is the case with agile methodologies.

In this time, it is the responsibility of the agile leaders to buck up their teams. Agile leadership in virtual environments should facilitate their teams in the best possible manner so that they don’t feel disconnected in these troubling times. Starting from the quickly replicating in-person meetings with that of virtual meeting rooms to simplifying team problem solving and enabling fast-paced feedback and decision making, agile leaders have a lot to do in order to maintain the parent effectiveness and optimization of agile methodologies. To catch more insights about the role of agile leadership in virtual teams, let’s get to know about the key methods which shall give a beacon of light for agile leaders to continue with their agile journey.

Agile Leadership in Virtual Environments

In these special circumstances, special procedures are needed to cope up with the gross implications pertaining to leadership lag. In pursuit of maintaining the sheer advantages of agile methods, the following are the five key methods:

Creating a Safe Environment

Conventionally, it is discouraged to be failed at something. But when it comes to agile leadership in virtual teams, agile leaders should create a safe environment for their virtual teams where agile players can experiment. Giving teams the leverage to experiment shall enlighten them with the failures, and these failures shall provide them with a way to change their course of actions or brainstorming methodologies. Furthermore, given the implications pertaining to COVID-19, such a safe environment will allow teams to adapt more readily to these virtual ways of working. They shall experiment with new things and it is then the responsibility of the agile leader to create such a welcoming environment, where in case of any failures, teams shouldn’t be afraid of any adverse consequences.

One token of advice in this regard is to celebrate the failure of the week in parallel with celebrating success or achievement of the week. This shall allow agile teams to come up with new ideas with confidence and thus broadening their horizon.

Collaboration Tools

Agile leadership in virtual environments is a lot more than video conferences or telemeetings. Instead, it seems more effective to make use of file-sharing mechanisms, chatting sessions, and most of all, using Kanban boards to collaborate. There are plenty of available collaboration tools that agile leaders can use as per their convenience as well as in conjunction with their particular setting or agenda. For instance, Slido can be used to gather questions, Mentimeter can be used to engage the audience, Nureva for the brainstorming sessions, Google suit to share files, and Zoom to host virtual meetings.

To make sure that these collaborative tools give desired results, agile leaders should put some etiquettes in place. Some of them include being punctual in the virtual meetings, muting mics when not talking, remaining focused, and turning on a webcam.

Continuous Feedback

The efficacy of agile methodology is highly reliant on rigorous feedbacks. As agile allows organizations to develop strategies flexibly, it is mandatory to check the efficacy of such strategies. Take an example of a marketing company where agile leaders test different marketing campaigns over a short period of time rather than investing a lot of time and money in formulating a long-term marketing campaign with no or very few interim testing and feedback sessions. Such long-term plannings have a very sound chance to not meet the expected results, as their development phase wasn’t cross-checked and the rigorous feedback was not taken, thereby resulting in loss of finances as well as time in a long run.

One way to avoid such situations is to set a vision and strategy. After this, devise the program increments of six sprints, spanning over the timeframe of two weeks each. In each of these sprints, plot the high-level goals. Now whenever the respective sprints come up, divide the due tasks in a virtual Kanban board while visualizing the workflow. While the sprint progresses towards its end, document the achieved benefits and progress. Depending on the mutual understanding or business needs, share this document with the stakeholders so as to have their feedback. Based on the feedback, agile leadership in virtual teams can decide to either modify their strategy or may continue with the defined strategy to reach the end goal.

Deeper Relationship

In this time of virtual meetings and remote working, personal engagements are not possible. This lag expects from the agile leaders to devise ways to deepen their intra-team relationships. The agile leadership in virtual environments needs to prevail a sense of being connected amongst various agile groups and teams. For doing so, one approach is to get into a video interaction and also allocate 30 mins for tea/coffee breaks. In these 30 mins, do not turn off the audio as well as video. Try to have an informal conversation with each other along with a cup of coffee/tea and snacks. This interactive session will make them feel as if they are having a conversation with each other in the office.

Adaptiveness

Adaptiveness is key to be a successful agile leader. In this time of virtual working, the need to have such adaptive behavior increases manifold. Agile leaders are required to have a keen eye on changing internal and external events. They need to have a subtle approach towards analyzing these dynamics from the perspective of their organizations. Such type of situational awareness leverages agile leaders to find a way to adapt agile methodologies with respect to these changes.

Virtual environments have changed plenty of organizational dynamics. From contextual situations to organizational structures, everything has been affected. In this lieu, this adaptive behavior may help agile leaders to strike a balance between innovation and efficiency.

Conclusion

Leading an agile team is a very privileged assignment, but nowadays it is not less than a challenge. The norm of remote working and being away from cross-team collaborations as well as meetings have resulted in a number of challenges for agile leadership. This is why these special circumstances are demanding special measures from agile leadership in virtual teams. The methods like collaboration, feedback mechanisms, informal discussions, adaptiveness, and giving space to the agile team members by providing a safe environment, are the five key ways by which agile leadership in virtual environments can be made effective. By following these five approaches, agile leaders can maintain the efficacy, persistence, and sternness of the agile methodologies, while complying with the virtual mode of business operations.

Find out more about agile leadership during the Corona crisis, by clicking here.

References

5 Ways to Demonstrate Agile Leadership in Virtual Environments

Creating a Safe Environment
Giving teams the leverage to experiment shall enlighten them with the failures, and these failures shall provide them with a way to change their course of actions or brainstorming methodologies.
Collaboration Tools
It seems most effective to make use of file-sharing mechanisms, chatting sessions, and most of all, using Kanban boards to collaborate.
Continuous Feedback
The efficacy of agile methodology is highly reliant on rigorous feedbacks.
Deeper Relationship
The agile leadership in virtual environments needs to prevail a sense of being connected amongst various agile groups and teams.
Adaptiveness
Adaptiveness is key to be a successful agile leader. In this time of virtual working, the need to have such adaptive behavior increases manifold.

Top Electric Cars of 2020: Comparison

July 14, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

The technological advancements in the last few years have led to numerous innovations that have completely changed the way of living. The introduction of electric cars is one such part of technological advancements. Electric cars are undoubtedly one of the effective means to combat the CO₂ emissions challenge. The feasibilities pertaining to renewable energy sources such as solar energy increases its efficacy by manifolds. In the time when people are focusing more on generating their own energy and be less reliant on the national grid, buying the best electric cars 2020 can provide a sure shot way to perceive cost benefits. Furthermore, owing to being environmentally feasible vehicles, you’ll be able to receive various rebates such as tax credits, incentivized services, and many other financial as well as environmental benefits. Find out more about other benefits associated with electromobility by clicking here.

Though COVID-19 has collaterally impacted many service sectors, but due to being environmentally compliant and the government’s incentives, electric cars demand is forecasted to be much better than other vehicles. There are estimates that electric cars will make out 3% of global car sales in 2020. If we talk about Europe, then 2020 is their target year for compliance with the low CO₂ emission levels. So, in a nutshell, it won’t be wrong to say that in the bleak of this pandemic, investing in buying top electric cars 2020 is quite secure. Moreover, fierce competition to take over the EV market is proving beneficial for the end consumers, as they receive good quality electric cars at a much better price.

Top Electric Cars 2020

The benefits and subsidies can only be enjoyed if the right decision about EV buying is made right in time. All these benefits could fade away if less efficient EV is bought by seeing its low price. There are many factors such as top speed, seating capacity, battery capacity, mileage on a single charge, and many others, which are essential to take into consideration while buying an electric car. For letting you take the right decision, there is a need to have an overview of top electric cars 2020. Following are some of the best electric cars 2020:

Audi e-Tron

Audi e-Tron was launched in the year 2019 as an SUV equipped with a battery size of 95 KWh. This car can commute up to 54 miles on just 10 minutes charge. According to the estimates of EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), this SUV can drive up to 204 miles on a single charge with a top speed of 124 mph. This five-passenger seating capacity EV can achieve the speed jump of 0-60 mph in 5.5 seconds. With the virtual cockpit plus, infotainment system, wireless car play, route planner, charging planner, and remote climatization, it’s premium plus variant is priced at $74,800, whereas prestige variant can be bought at the rate of $79,100.

BMW i3

BMW i3 is manufactured to give drivers an absolute city experience with the top speed of 90 mph. BMW i3 can commute up to 153 miles on one single charge with the battery size of 42.2 KWh. With the top speed of 93 mph, BMW i3 can achieve the 0-60 mph speed jump in 7.2 seconds. BMW i3 is priced at $ 44,450 with ABS, infotainment systems, smart instrument and control system, automatic climate control, and various remote services.

Chevrolet Bolt EV

Chevrolet Bolt EV is another one of the best electric cars 2020 that is launched in 2020 as an electric hatchback. This car can achieve a top speed of 90 mph with a battery size of 66 KWh. As per the EPA estimates, this car can drive up to 259 miles in one single charge. This electric hatchback can achieve a 0-60 mph jump in 6.5 seconds. With the 10.2-inch touch screen, Wi-Fi hotspot, smartphone app integration, and GM’s teen driver safety system, this hatchback can be bought at the rate of $36,620.

Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Amongst many electric cars 2020, Hyundai Ioniq Electric is an exciting hatchback with the extended passenger as well as a cargo facility. This car is available at the base price of $33,045 with a battery size of 38.3 KWh. Hyundai Ioniq can go as long as 170 miles on a single full charge. It is designed to achieve a speed of 60 mph from rest in 8.9 seconds.

Jaguar I-PACE

Jaguar I-PACE is one of the top electric cars 2020 with an extended cargo facility along with the shape that of an SUV. With the battery size of 90 KWh, this electric car can be driven up to 234 miles with one full charging. While it can achieve the 0-60 mph acceleration in just 4.5 seconds, it can also reach the top speed of 124 mph. This car comes equipped with the panoramic sunroof, infotainment system, Wi-Fi hotspot, and array of safety systems with the price bracket of $69,850.

Kia Niro EV

Kia Niro EV comes with a base price of $39,090. It is also known as e-Niro and retains the battery power of 64 KWh. According to EPA, this car can be driven up to 239 miles upon a single charge. With the top speed of 104 mph, this car can achieve the 0-60 mph acceleration in about 7.5 seconds.

Porsche Taycan Turbo

Porsche Taycan Turbo is one of the most expensive electric cars 2020 with a base price of $150,900. This electric sedan car is equipped with a 93.4 KWh battery and has a top speed of 161 mph. As per EPA estimates, this car can go up to the range of 201 miles with a single full charge. As far as 0-60 mph speed gain is concerned, the Taycan turbo is capable of achieving this in 3 seconds.

Tesla Model S

Among the best electric cars 2020, Tesla S is the biggest competitor. Tesla S comes with the battery size of 100 KWh. This car can be purchased against the price of $94,990. However, the Long-Range variant is available at $74,990. This electric sedan car is super-fast and can reach the top speed of 163 mph. Tesla S can go up to the range of 402 miles with one full charge. With its ludicrous mode, this car can achieve the 0-60 mph jump in just 2.3 seconds. This car comes with the 17-inch touch screen along with over the air updates and infotainment system.

Tesla Model X

Tesla X is quite similar to Tesla S when it comes to specs but it comes with the sitting capacity of 7 passengers along with the extended cargo facility. It can achieve the 0-60 mph speed jump in just 2.6 seconds. As per EPA estimates, this SUV can be driven to a distance of 351 miles with one full charge. With the battery size of 100KWh, it can achieve the top speed of 163 mph. Tesla X performance variant is available at a rate of $99,990, whereas the Long-Range variant is available at $79,990.

Conclusion

In the situation where there exist many top electric cars 2020, opting for a single one isn’t a job of toddlers. Every car which has made up to the list of best electric cars 2020 deserves a fair chance to be bought. However, since EV buying should not be reliant solely on either price or features. Therefore, opting for an option that offers the best trade-off is what seems sane. Weighing on the aspect of trade-off and the number of EV listed above, Tesla S is the worthy car to be bought. Though the price is little higher than other EVs, but given the mileage per full charge, top speed, battery size, ludicrous mode, and most of all, the trust and identity of Tesla, this car deserves the fair chance to be chosen. In this lieu, Tesla S is indeed the best electric cars 2020.

Reference

Tesla Ludicrous Mode Analyzed over all Models

July 12, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

From the vision of Elon Musk to the trust of hundreds of millions, Tesla has evolved as the brand of trust, innovation, and sustainability. Over a few years, Tesla has very much been in debate owing to the vision of its CEO pertaining to electric vehicles and scientific niches. Elon Musk is pursuing Tesla with the vision of making electric vehicles accessible to every segment of the society, both at the premium as well as affordable prices. Seeing Tesla’s sheer commitment to the EVs, it won’t be wrong to portray Tesla as the electric vehicle mogul. With its production plant currently located in Palo Alto, California, Tesla is vouching for a wider ecosystem. Apart from EVs, Tesla is leveraging its experience to the number of solutions, such as solar panels, power storage, and battery power. While conventionally, automobiles were gauged on the number of parameters like top speed, safety features, and aerodynamics, the introduction of Tesla ludicrous mode diverted the attention of car enthusiasts towards something they need the most. In its most basic definition, Tesla S ludicrous mode is a feature that enables Tesla car to go from 0 mph to 60 mph in just 2.28 seconds.

Working of Tesla Ludicrous Mode

While a lot of vouching is being done in favor of ludicrous mode in Tesla models, there is a need to see that how do such systems work. Especially in the scenario when critics are comparing Tesla S and X models with the sports car like Ferrari and Porsche, a deep insight into the working mechanism of ludicrous mode becomes inevitable.

Taking an example of the Tesla Model S car, it uses an inverter that converts electrons from Tesla’s DC batteries to the AC electrons which are then fed to the electric motors. Simply, the more will be the number of electrons, the more packets of electrical energy shall one have. Subsequently, these elevated packets of electrical energy shall provide more power to the installed motors.

For transporting current from the battery to different modules, Tesla uses a large electromagnet contactor which gets controlled by software. This contactor connects the battery pack with an external load which can either be a charger, inverter, or any other load or circuit.

The algorithm that is embedded in the Tesla’s firmware is smart enough to control the amount of the current that is flowing through the contactors so as to provide constant torque to the motor. Furthermore, with the use of a safety fuse and this type of contactor, Tesla’s system can sustain the overshooting of a nominal current of 1300 amperes to the whooping value of 1500 amperes. This differential of 200 amperes is what activates the Tesla ludicrous mode thereby letting electric motors draw more current and so does the power. Finally, Tesla drivers can achieve the acceleration jump from 0 mph to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds.

It must be noted that different users noted different times ludicrous mode takes to achieve a speed of 0 mph to 60 mph. While some people noted this time to be 2.4 seconds, whereas some noted it to be 2.8 seconds. Nevertheless, the time frame is well under three seconds. Furthermore, on his official twitter account, Elon Musk claimed this time frame to be 2.4 seconds.

Three-level Ludicrous Mode

Ludicrous mode is equipped with three levels so as to leverage users to customize this feature. The first level, known as ludicrous mode, enables users to enjoy the basic level boost to the car’s acceleration. However, for the most enhanced version, Tesla ludicrous mode has the second level named Ludicrous +. Ludicrous + enable users to have boosted 0 mph to 60 mph speed jump along with Launch control. Here the user has the option to use acceleration as well as a brake at the same time. Once the journey or race begins, the driver can release the brake thereby resulting in maximum power along with a strong launch. But for a more sophisticated user, it has a third level named Ludicrous + Warp mode. This level allows Tesla cars to offer more acceleration or in simple words more spontaneous 0-60 mph jump by increasing the heating capacity of battery packs.

A driver may find noticeable changes while going from level 1 to level 2, but once he/she shifts to level 3 from level 2, no substantial difference would be noted since the difference will be in a fraction of seconds.

Tesla Models equipped with Ludicrous Mode

Tesla offers a wide range of electric vehicles for their potential customers. But to maintain the balance between luxury and affordability, not every model is equipped with Tesla ludicrous mode. Following are two of the Tesla models that are equipped with Ludicrous mode:

Model S

Model S is a four-door sedan car that became the first car to be equipped with Tesla S ludicrous mode. According to the Tesla website statistics, Tesla S is estimated to commute up to 402 miles on one single charge. With the ludicrous mode, Tesla S gets the 20% boost in normal acceleration thereby achieving 0-60 mph jump in just 2.4seconds.

Model X

Tesla X is a 7 person SUV equipped with the Tesla ludicrous mode. According to the estimates of EPA, it can commute up to 351 miles on a single charge. It has two variants named as Long Range model and Performance. With the ludicrous mode, a Long-range variant can achieve the 0-60 mph speed jump in 4.4 seconds, whereas performance variant receives the same speed jump in just 2.7 seconds.

Conclusion

With its unique business model and visionary leadership of Elon Musk, Tesla is giving fierce competition to the automobile manufacturers. It is the innovative culture of Tesla which made it the world’s second most valuable car company with the market capitalization of $227 billion. With all these credentials, Tesla S ludicrous mode is another milestone that no one other than Tesla has achieved. An electric car capable of achieving 0-60 mph jump in less than three seconds surely made Tesla come ahead of its competitors. But keeping in mind customer’s needs and affordability, they do not offer ludicrous mode in every model. For those who want to have a good eco-friendly family car, a valuable sedan comes up in the shape of Tesla S along with an extraordinary Tesla S ludicrous mode. But for those looking for extended passenger capacities and enhanced cargo facility, a Tesla ludicrous mode enabled SUV in the shape of Tesla X comes as the best choice. Both of these models are highly efficient and come equipped with two electric motors so as to give users the lifelong experience of being in the car of the future.

Besides introducing new features enhancements in EV models, Tesla is also working on turning driving to a whole new autonomous mode. Find out more about EVs and autonomous vehicles by clicking here.

References

Disserting Germany’s EV Charging Stations Requirements of 2020

July 8, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

If we talk of Electric Vehicles (EVs) then only one region will come in mind that is becoming the identity of EVs. Though China and the USA are the potential markets for EVs, but the way Europe has led such initiatives, it won’t be wrong to call Europe the EV powerhouse. After the Brexit, Germany has become the political and economic hub of Europe. This puts Germany on the driving seat for leading such initiatives. In the times when France has announced a subsidy of €12,000 for anyone who buys an electric vehicle, Germany is expected to push more in providing stimulus package to this sector. It must be remembered that France announced this subsidy despite economic implications due to COVID-19. It is a well-known fact that the future of EVs would only become substantial if infrastructure pertaining to EV charging stations and incentives would come in play. Germany being the European political and economic leader, is in a much better place to stimulate this growing sector. To have a better insight of the current EV charging Germany situation and the future plans, let’s discuss in detail.

Overview of Germany EV Sector and Charging Infrastructure

Along with other European nations like Norway and Sweden, Germany is one of those European nations which is advocating for the green environment along with e-mobility initiatives. From renewable energy to sheer campaigns in favor of EVs, Germany has emerged as the global EV leader. All of these events are the by-product of the German Chancellor’s vision where she announced to build a million EV charging stations all over the country by the year 2030. This vision is very appreciating in its essence but there is a need to gauge Germany’s progress in this regard. While in 2020, Germany has only ten years left to turn their Chancellor’s aspiration into a reality.

As of March 2020, EV charging Germany stations stand at the toll of 27,730. This figure does not seem to be the reflection of Angela Merkel’s aspiration. Moreover, it also shows how people are reluctant to opt for EVs. It makes sense too because people do not have confidence that if they buy EVs, then like petrol stations, they can refuel their car anywhere without any hassle. The burden of such confidence-building is reliant on the German government’s policies to appreciate EV charging stations in the country.

According to the statistics of 2019, out of total cars registered in Germany, EV’s proportion stood at just 2%. On the contrary, 60% of the market share is still captured by petrol vehicles. This shows that Germans are reluctant to buy EVs. To make EVs a norm in society, the German government has to do a lot. As per the study of the German Association of Energy (BDEW), for Germany to become a mass-market of EVs, it will need to build at least 70,000 EV charging stations and 7000 fast-charging stations.

These statistics and overview present two conclusions. First, there exist interdependence between the EV charging Germany and EVs. This means that the future of EVs is highly dependent on the EV charging stations in Germany. Secondly, the vision of the German Chancellor reflects the sheer interest of the German government in enacting EVs in the country. This support from the government can bring a bundle of good omens for the EV sector in Germany.

2020 and EV Charging Stations in Germany

2020 could be the year of economic progress and EVs, but given the adversities of COVID-19, everything has experienced a gross dip. From economic implications to the socially restricted lifestyle, COVID-19 has turned our lives in a way no one could imagine. However, apart from the downsides of COVID-19, many positive sides are there too. One of those positive aspects includes the improvement in the air quality index all over the world. This improvement bestowed EV advocates with the sigh of relief and also gave German governments confidence to stimulate this sector to achieve their carbon emission goals.

For the revival of the economy amid COVID-19, Germany has announced an economic stimulus package of €130 Billion. With this, given the sheer prospects of EV markets, Germany has announced to offer a subsidy of €6000 on the purchase of EVs. This subsidy revived EV manufacturer’s confidence along with leveraging consumers to shift towards EVs. Furthermore, the German government has allocated €2.5 Billion for the battery cell production and EV charging Germany infrastructure.

While the above-mentioned measures are pertinent from the economic point of view, Germany knows that EV’s market share cannot be encouraged until and unless sound charging infrastructure is enacted. Therefore, in continuation of pro-EV policies, Germany has obliged all petrol stations in the country to offer electric charging services in their existing facility. With this, not only will Germany’s charging infrastructure be elevated to a substantial level, but it will also let Germans anxiety over EVs to cool down. This plan is part of the economic recovery package announced by the government and is being welcomed by all segments of the society. With such initiatives, EV advocates are quite hopeful for the revival of the EV industry in Germany. They are considering this effort to bolster Germany’s EV charging capacity and so does the demand of EVs.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that like any other sector, the EV sector was also perceiving the downsides of COVID-19. This sector was in dire need of some stimulus package which shall not only provide relief to the EV manufacturers but also broaden their market share. In the situation where the German economy is forecasted to be shrinking by the factor of 7.1%, the announcement of initiatives like economic recovery package and obliging fuel stations to offer electric charging services speaks of Germany’s sheer interest in the EVs. With these initiatives, Germany has proved its credentials of leading the European Union. Being a pro-EV government, Germany is also setting examples for the other nations to reduce carbon emissions by shifting towards EVs. The obliging of petrol stations to equip their fueling stations with the electric charging ports shows Germany’s commitment to realize the aspiration of their Chancellor, Angela Merkel. This step is being seen as a beacon of light for bolstering EV charging stations network in the country and so does the EVs.

Now more about the EV market post-COVID-19 industry forecast by clicking here.

References

Post-COVID-19 Societies and EV Market: The Industry Forecast

July 7, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

Empty Roads Covid-19 and mobility ev market

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there is hardly any sector that has not experienced the adversity of this pandemic. Due to the widespread of this pandemic, every country has perceived the implications both from economic as well as social perspective. Given the nature of the pandemic and the calamities it has caused, it won’t be wrong to say that for the past six months, our lifestyle has changed completely. Starting from our working norms to the social lifestyle, everything has changed beyond anticipations. This pandemic broke out in the times when the world has started to take climate change, a serious change. In pursuit, many nations were advocating for electromobility. Since now the attention is solely on the COVID-19. In this perspective, there is a need to look at the impact COVID-19 has cast on the e-mobility. There is also a need to look at the relationship between COVID-19 and EV market. To have a better insight into the future of COVID-19 and mobility, keep scrolling down.

How COVID-19 has Impacted E-Mobility?

Like any other sector, the e-mobility market has also become the victim of COVID-19. The loss of millions of jobs has narrowed the buying power of the common man. The sense of uncertainty motivated people to cut down their luxurious spending. Consequently, people were reluctant to even think about spending on anything except necessities. Furthermore, the closure of the retail sector and manufacturing plants amid COVID-19 brought immense backlashes to the e-mobility initiatives. There were estimates that the global EV market will experience a compound annual growth rate of 21%. But now due to the COVID-19, experts are saying that the EV market is going to experience a 34% dip in their earlier projections. Moreover, stimulus packages by the leading e-mobility nations, such as Germany, France, Netherlands, and other countries, is certainly going to hamper in their advocating initiatives in favor of e-mobility. In a nutshell, the relationship between COVID-19 and mobility is going through a troubling time.

However, a pivotal question arises which asks that; will the situation remain the same for a long time from now? The answer is pretty straightforward, NO! Indeed, this prevalent lockdown is temporary. These restrictions are imposed just to curtail the widespread of COVID-19. Though COVID-19 and EV market shares an adverse relationship for now, but soon this bond is set to break.

Green Side of the COVID-19

Even in these troubling times, Tesla delivered 88,000 EV units in the first quarter of 2020. Apart from negative impacts, this pandemic has also brought some positivity which unfortunately goes unnoticed. According to the analysis by Carbon Brief, this lockdown has cut down the Chinese carbon emissions by the factor of 25%. Furthermore, improvement in the air quality index of some of the world’s most polluted cities such as Delhi, Lahore, and Paris, validates the green side of COVID-19. This reduction is in response to imposing strict lockdown by limiting general mobility, shutting down factories, and reduction in air traffic. Nevertheless, it should be treated as a blessing in disguise.

This opportunity should be taken as a token of confidence for advocating in favor of e-mobility. Instead of getting in the blame game of COVID-19 and mobility, the focus should be on capitalizing this opportunity to aware people about the relevance of electromobility in the post-COVID-19 world. Since the reduction in overall global population and the news of ozone layer recovery has been widely reported, people are very much aware of the green aspects of this pandemic. There is a need to market these developments and encourage the use of e-mobility by letting people know that the pre-COVID world was polluted due to these fuel-burning vehicles. Now, as they are breathing in a clean environment, this is majorly due to the limitations of such environmentally adverse vehicles.

Post COVID-19 EV Market

Technologists, researchers, and EV enthusiasts are interested in knowing about the future of the EV market in the post-COVID-19 world. The future of the EV market in this post-COVID times is highly dependent on the incentivizing of the EV sector. Given the positive impacts of COVID-19 on the overall pollution indexes, it is the right time for the governments to come forward and continue their support to the electromobility industry. On the assurances of the governments, a lot of investment has been brought in for uphauling the e-mobility, and it is now the responsibility of the governments to safeguard these investments.

In the present situation, it may take about 2-3 years for the EV market to come at the pre-COVID standings but the future of the EV market is quite bright. Many politicians, campaigners, and investors are urging governments to reiterate their support to the EV market and enable this sector to continue the greener outcomes of this pandemic. Voices like ‘let’s restore the green economy with electric vehicles’ have started to attract governments to use this opportunity to reach their zero-emissions goals. For instance, Bogota’s undersecretary for the mobility policies has told the world via the United Nations, that they are using this opportunity to accelerate their e-mobility initiatives. What has been planned to be implemented in one or two years, is now being planned to be implemented in one or two months. They are giving tax and regulatory incentives to the EV market to bolster electromobility.

Furthermore, social distancing rules will also force people to be less dependent on public transport. Therefore, they’ll move towards buying their own vehicles. So, in this condition, there is a huge opportunity for the EV manufacturers as well as governments to incentivize this sector to establish an emobility social distancing paradigm.

Importance of EV Charger Network in COVID-19 and EV Market

In the situation when there is a gross potential of electromobility initiatives to let people sustain the greener aspect of COVID-19, the importance of the EV charging network has increased manifold. With the expected government support to continue their help towards the EV market, it is expected that recovery will indeed be not that smooth as it was before this pandemic. But, still given the bright future, electromobility is surely going to take on the future.

In these situations, and to continue encouraging the social distancing, EV charger network will need to be expanded. In pursuit of preparing for the forthcoming future of the electric vehicles, it is a need of the hour to build more EV charging stations. It will bestow us with two major benefits. First of all, it will ensure that charging stations do not get overcrowded, and hence, the social distancing measures could remain intact. Secondly, the abundance of charging stations will provoke a general sense in the public that if they consider buying an electric vehicle, they won’t have to drive extra miles to charge their EVs. All these measures will help us maintaining an emobility social distancing paradigm along with sustaining the improved air quality indexes of our previously polluted cities.

Conclusion

Electromobility is one of those initiatives that has been affected adversely by COVID-19. Nearly, every country was progressing towards zero-emission in their capacities. But then, COVID-19 emerged and like any other sector, the EV market also saw a sheer dip. But, fortunately, improvement in the air quality indexes provided EV advocates with the sigh of relief. Now, everyone knows about the downsides of fuel-burning vehicles. With the indicators pointing towards the healing of the ozone layer and pollution-free air, the EV market is set to revive the loss suffered from COVID-19. Though this sector will experience some further backlashes like any other sector, but with the right marketing, government support, and infrastructural development, electromobility is all set to bounce back.

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References

How can Perception be made? Neuronal Net vs Geometrical Analysis of Camera Signal

June 30, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

In the past, a lot of automobile manufacturers were working on realizing the concept of autonomous vehicles. But this concept became a hot topic when Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, announced a crash program to bring autonomous vehicles on roads. From there, the fierce competition began to roll on. But ground realities suggest that people are still reluctant to buy any such vehicles. There are plenty of studies and articles that show that selling autonomous vehicles is a much bigger challenge than manufacturing them. Even those who lead this project, such as Tesla, is facing many problems in selling AVs to the potential customers. The main reason lies in the reluctance of people to trust their autonomous operations. They are still unable to understand the numerous perceptions that are associated with autonomous vehicles. Let’s have a look at the way, perceptions are made in the AVs, and let’s compare two main algorithms to see how decision making is done.

How are Perceptions made?

The perceptions in autonomous vehicles are made in the same way as that by humans in conventional cars. Human sensory abilities are replicated in autonomous vehicles with various sensors such as Radars, LiDARs, Ultrasonic sensors, Sonars, GPS, and multiple cameras. These are the sources from which perceptions are made. It must be noted that it is not mandatory that every autonomous vehicle manufacturer will use these sensors. Therefore, it is quite possible that some manufacturers may use some of them or employ some other sensors to handle perceptions. But, generally, the above sensors are some of the most commonly used sources for building perceptions in autonomous vehicles.

The data received from these perceptions are then fed to the interpreter, which then translates this data into the information-oriented language. This interpreted information is then used to make certain decisions and to drive the autonomous vehicle subsequently.

Among all of the sensory equipment, the camera is considered as the most vital part of autonomous vehicles. The reason lies in its being a visual instrument. It has the ability to replicate the human eye and can identify objects in a vision as of humans. But information processing is not just as simple as capturing the image and making decisions. Many intelligent and deep learning techniques are used to fine-tune the visuals obtained from the cameras so as to embed intelligence in autonomous vehicles.

Following are the two key techniques which are used to process and analyse camera visuals in an autonomous vehicle:

Geometrical Analysis

While driving in an urban environment, adherence to the road-lane conditions is mandatory. It ensures safe traveling and encourages fewer road accidents. From the human point of view, such adherence can be ensured by making them forced to follow lane rules. But when it comes to autonomous vehicles, human-less interventions make it difficult to comply with these rules. However, for such compliance, geometrical analysis can prove to be helpful.

With the help of forward-looking cameras, images, and data about the longitudinal markings of the road can be extracted. The successful extraction of such perceptions enables the system to gather information pertaining to the location of the vehicle with respect to the boundary of the road-lane. Furthermore, information about the lateral distances of the vehicle enables the system to determine the right and left boundaries of the road-lane. Thus, enabling the autonomous vehicle to keep in-lane. Such geometric data is important in the locations where GPS signals are either unavailable or disrupted.

Another way to ease the geometrical analysis is to designate the separate lanes for AVs. Since future mobility will be highly reliant on the AVs and many governments are supporting the development of AVs. Therefore, ensuring a separate lane for the AVs or using magnetic strips on the lane boundaries can improve the working of autonomous vehicles.

Neuronal Network

Machine learning is meant for those systems where smartness and autonomy are required. Since the working of the autonomous vehicle is highly dependent on such algorithms, therefore machine learning has great potential here.

Neuronal network or neural network works on the principles of machine learning and tries to replicate the human brain. Here neurons are trained in the same way as humans are trained to learn and make decisions. Data from the perception is fed to the neuronal network, which then trains the datasets and makes necessary decisions as per the fed data.

For example, while commuting to Point B from Point A, an autonomous vehicle stopped at a red traffic signal even when the signal is at the far corner of the road. Such an intelligence operation is done due to the embedding of the neural network. Basically, neurons are trained to look for traffic lights at different height and angle through a camera. The intelligence is embedded when datasets containing images of different traffic signals elevated at different angles, positions, and elevations are gathered and trained. Furthermore, it is also trained for different lights, such as red, yellow, and green light. These neurons or datasets, when gets trained, embeds intelligence into the system. Therefore, whenever a similar situation occurs, they detect, analyse, and act in the same way as humans do. Similarly, road signs, intersecting points, distance from the obstacle or vehicle, and path following are also other key determinates of neural networks in analysing the data from the camera.

Conclusion

The above discussion clearly narrates that the perception model of autonomous vehicles is multi-dimensional. The approach is very novel and is quite close to reality. It fulfils all the pre-requisites to make autonomous vehicles a safer choice. By analysing the adoption of the geometrical or neuronal network, the adoption of the neuronal network seems to be more relevant and effective. The foremost reason lies in the AI and constant learning aspect of the neuronal networks. While it is by-default trained to commute on the roads freely, the continual learning aspect makes it more sustainable. Furthermore, it has the ability to take into account almost every constituent of the perception model. Whether incoming data is from the camera or LiDAR, a neuronal network is effective enough to translate this information and make appropriate decisions.

References

Autonomous Driving and Recognition of Turn, Stop, and other Traffic Signals using Camera Input – What are the Challenges?

June 29, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

According to WHO, nearly about 1.35 million people die every year just because of road accidents. These accidents occur mainly because of human error. Humans can drive ruthlessly, sometimes they follow rules, and sometimes they don’t. Whenever they violate traffic rules and regulations, mostly road accidents occur. Traffic rules are enacted just to ensure safe driving. Given the other technological advancements, a rising number of traffic accidents also motivated automobile manufacturers to pursue autonomous vehicles. With multidimensional sensing, analysing, determination, and control systems, autonomous vehicles can travel much safer than that of humans. The basic reason lies in the fact that machines don’t get tired. Furthermore, the installation of intelligent systems also makes sure that autonomous vehicles do not violate the rules. Even though there are clear benefits of autonomous vehicles, many people still doubt about the reliability of autonomous vehicles.

Out of all the grievances about autonomous vehicles, concerns about its recognition system is of great importance. There is a need to shed light on how autonomous vehicle’s recognition system reacts with the multiple road and traffic signs. It is the recognition system that assists autonomous vehicles to act intelligently. Inputs from the camera system and state of the art results of recognition systems are what advocates for the effectiveness and intelligence of autonomous vehicles.

Recognition of Traffic Signals using Camera Input

While the use of radars, LiDARs, GPS, and Ultrasonic sensors in autonomous vehicles assist in the distance and geofencing of the external environment, cameras give the visual perspective of the external environment. The close coordination of all sensing units is the key to the success of autonomous vehicles. Let’s find out how the camera’s inputs are recognized by the autonomous vehicles from the perspective of road and traffic signals.

In the development stage, the perception and interpretation model of autonomous vehicles is trained for various objects and environments, which are expected to occur while travelling in the real world. This information is stored in the matrix for each object. For example, if it is a turn right scene, then different images such as the image of road signs in the sunny weather, cloudy weather, rainy weather, snowy weather, and dark mode are stored in its respective matrix. The same sorting is done for other road signs and traffic signals. While travelling, the camera of the autonomous vehicle constantly captures the visuals of the surroundings. These captured images are then sent to the interpretation model where they are fine-tuned to filter any noise along with fixing resolution related issues. From there, it is passed to the image processing algorithm.

For autonomous vehicles, image processing has three fundamental stages. The first stage is known as pre-processing, where RGB coloured picture is converted to the Hue-Saturation Value (HSV). The second stage is known as detection, where the transcendental colour threshold method is applied for the initial filtering, along with the scanning to establish the Region of Interest (ROI). The third stage is known as the recognition stage, where image processing will be finalized, and therefore, the fate of the captured will be decided. Commonly, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) are employed to recognize the type of captured image, i.e., whether it is a traffic signal or road sign along with the extraction of information. For example, if it is found that image has been recognized as the road sign calling to STOP, then this word will be extracted as the useful information and passed on to the vehicle control system to begin deceleration or braking system.

Challenges

While methodologies about recognition of camera inputs seem substantially accurate, there are many challenges to this highly intelligent algorithm. With the increase in competition and more research studies on the subject of autonomous vehicles, it has been noted that this recognition system has been facing or about to face many challenges. Some of the vulnerable challenges are as follow:

2D Perspective of Cameras

The world around us is in 3D but the camera gives us a 2D perspective. Though there are a lot of 3D cameras that are launched by many companies, still their efficacy is to be evaluated for autonomous vehicles. Since the camera sees 3D objects from the 2D perspective, there is a great challenge of perspective lag. There is a possibility that this lag may miss some information, and therefore, AV’s cameras could not give a full insight into the external environment. Eventually, leading to less effectiveness of autonomous vehicles.

Globally Varying Road Signs Designs

Generally, road signs all over the world are the same, but there are road signs that are either region specified or are shown differently as compared to the rest of the world. For example, in most of the countries STOP sign is mostly written inside a red-painted octagon. But there are countries like Israel, Ethiopia, and Pakistan where a hand is displayed to indicate stop. Similarly, some of the Arab countries write STOP in Arabic. So, in this case, it is a challenge for engineers to develop such a recognition system that shall be able to recognize all sort of road signs as well as different traffic signals.

Effectiveness of AVs Algorithms

The varying road signs further give rise to another challenge, i.e., vast database and the effectiveness of machine learning. The working of autonomous vehicles is chiefly governed by machine learning algorithms. Therefore, it is a big challenge to first formulate such a vast database of road signs along with their respective multi-dimensional matrices. The formulation of such a database does not solve the problem entirely, but it is also a gross challenge to train autonomous vehicle systems to the degree where they can recognize these signs flawlessly in the real world.

Conclusion

To encourage the use of autonomous vehicles, it is very important to educate people about the efficacy and safety of autonomous vehicles. Once a consumer is sure that autonomous vehicle is intelligent enough to decide on its own with the flawless recognition system, only then dream of transforming future mobility with AVs would be realized. There is no doubt in admiring the intelligent recognition model of camera inputs. AVs are capable enough to recognize far-flung road signs and highly elevated road signs with the supersonic processing speed and milliseconds actuation. Since continued learning is the prerequisite of excellence, therefore the same should be applied here. The future of autonomous vehicles is closely associated with confronting the upcoming challenges.

References

Software Architecture in Autonomous Vehicles and its Safety Concerns

June 26, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

Autonomous vehicles may seem to be a very noble concept for future mobility. But, in its essence, it involves a range of complexities. If one cast a critical look at the architecture and working principle of autonomous vehicles, nothing except complexity and artificial intelligence would be found. The general public may consider obstacle avoidance and path planning as just the advanced version of conventional vehicles. But those who are familiar with autonomous vehicles, they know that all this autonomy and intelligence comes at the cost of complexity. In its typical operations, the autonomous vehicle has to deal with the constant data feeding by the perception model, rigorous processing of information, and the intelligent decision making to forward commands to the vehicle control system.

The point to ponder directs to the question that what is the one thing that ensures coordination of such complex systems, and how is it ensured on such a vast scale? The simplest answer to it is Software Architecture. The main purpose to introduce software architectures in autonomous vehicles is to manage the complexities in the autonomous driving systems. It helps in the assessment of both the non-functional and functional attributes of the autonomous driving systems.

To have a better insight into software architectures, there is a need to look at what they offer and how can they help mitigate the complexity and safety-related issues of autonomous vehicles.

Software Architecture in Autonomous Vehicles

While the use of the software architecture in autonomous vehicles varies from company to company but for the sake of the overview, general considerations about AV software architecture will be discussed.

The software architecture in autonomous vehicles is recommended to be a sort of layered one. The foremost benefit of layered architecture resides in different layers where individual systems of the autonomous vehicle are mapped. These layers are responsible for fulfilling their respective responsibilities. By using this architecture, the division of different responsibilities is formed in the system, which consequently helps in better understanding and troubleshooting of the autonomous vehicle. Furthermore, such layers make the system more manageable and counter the system’s complexity. The general layer architecture can comprise of the input normalization layer, action planning layer, control layer, and output layer. Depending on the system’s constraints, these layers can further be divided into the sublayers. The general working mechanism of autonomous vehicle’s layered software architecture is as follow:

Perceptions from the sensors and visual equipment such as the camera are passed on to the input normalization layer. This layer perceives this information and prepares it to be passed onto the action planning layer.
The action planning layer receives the normalized inputs and begins semantic processing of the received information, such as acknowledgment of drivable lane. Now, based on the results of semantic processing, the action planning layer activates the path planning algorithm, which then determines the direction in which autonomous vehicle should head. The final output of the action planning layer, i.e., commands to decide the manoeuvre, is passed onto the control layer.
The control layer decides that which commands shall be executed by the autonomous vehicle’s software, such as whether to active the acceleration algorithm or to trigger the turn left algorithm. The information about the selected command or algorithm is then passed to the output layer.
The output layer is where the action part is involved. The output layer is responsible for the actuation of the system or in other words, hardware abstraction. For example, based on the outcomes of the input, action planning, and control layer, if it is decided that the steering system should be actuated, then based on this information, the output layer shall actuate steering as per defined steering angle and direction.

Given the autonomous vehicle models and features, it is possible to include the data logging and network layer too. While the network layer will assist in the communication and UI/UX interface, the data logging layer will help to maintain the logs of the itinerary and the overall operations of the autonomous vehicle.

Safety Considerations

Apart from focusing on the software architectures of the autonomous vehicles, it would be disastrous to ignore the safety considerations. When it comes to autonomous vehicles, reliability and safety are the two most sought features. There are multiple ways by which both safety and reliability can be ensured in autonomous vehicles.

Emergency Brake System

The emergency brake system should be made an essential part of the software architecture of autonomous vehicles. Given the importance of the emergency brake system, a separate layer can be defined in the software architecture of autonomous vehicles so that when triggered, it does not suffer any time lag.

Self-Adaptation

Self-adaptation is another way by which the safety of the system can be ensured. Such mechanisms are capable of adapting to the required changes with the help of a feedback loop. With a feedback loop, the current status of autonomous vehicles can be incorporated in the ongoing computation so that computations related to steering angle and speed should be made more authentic and safer.

Timeout Mechanism

Besides both of these key safety considerations, a timeout mechanism can also be inducted in the action planning layer. This consideration proves to be helpful in the situation when no new image or data is being fed from the sensing environment and the vehicle needs to react reasonably.

Conclusion

The way complex systems operate in autonomous vehicles, the inclusion of software architectures is very much needed. With the use of layered architecture, not only do jobs have been segmented, but the system’s reliability is also expected to increase a lot. Each layer is responsible to do its job and then pass it on to the next layer. Another advantage of this layered architecture is the increase in processing power. From information processing to the control system, each segment will only do its designated job, thereby relieving them from the unnecessary burden. Along with all these considerations, safety should be prioritized. The acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the eyes of the general public is associated with the intense safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles.

Reference

How can the Signal from Perception be sent to the Vehicle’s Control? How can it be Interpreted?

June 24, 2020 0 Comments read Electromobility

As a general look, it seems very easy for autonomous vehicles to collect information from the sensors and act accordingly. But, in actual, perception is the most challenging as well as a complex phase to model. The reason lies in the simultaneous working of multiple sensors and integrating them to establish a single cruck of information. Depending on the environment in which autonomous vehicle is being driven, the volume of the data that needs to be processed can be in huge volumes. Generally, a massive amount of data is generated by autonomous vehicles in a fraction of seconds. This narrates the horrific amount of processing power that is required to process such a large volume of data. It is another challenge, but for the time being, let’s stick to the interpretation of perception signals and their influence on the control of the autonomous vehicle. To understand the mode of translating perception signal to steer the control system of the autonomous vehicle, it is empirical to understand how perception signals are interpreted.

How does Interpretation work in Autonomous Vehicle?

From the autonomous vehicle’s perspective, the perception model is the combination of different sensors. These sensors sense the external environment and pass on this information to the translation block or model known as interpretation. Since the obtained data can be in the scattered form, the interpretation block not only processes this information but also fine-tunes this data to be more discrete and understandable.

For example, consider a situation where an autonomous vehicle’s perception has detected that obstacle is just 10m ahead and collision is possible. So based on this information, an emergency brake system will be triggered, and the vehicle will eventually stop to avoid the collision. Now the discrete information about the distance to be just 10 meters wasn’t conveyed by the sensor or perception model. Instead, the sensor used their sensing system to detect the obstacle and passed on this information to the interpreter. The interpreter then filtered the data and processed it using the speed time formula to compute the distance of 10 meters. This is how interpretation works in autonomous vehicles.

However, depending on the features and working model of the different autonomous vehicles, information processing and algorithms may differ. But the general essence of the interpretation model remains the same.

Process of Sending a Signal from the Perception to the Vehicle Control

It is said that it takes about 0.15 to few seconds for humans to decide and act in case of any road calamity. This time accumulates to the situation analysis, deciding the course of action, and then taking actions to control the unfavourable circumstances. However, critics say that it is not the same in every case, and generally, it may extend to several seconds. So, in this lieu, it won’t be wrong to say that time it takes to generate and interpret the perceptions as well as the time to let vehicle control act on those interpretations should be close to this perception-reaction time.

When the perception model detects something, it sends the collected data to the interpreter model. Here this information is first of all filtered and fine-tuned for better processing. Afterwards, this discrete data is matched with the underlying conditions. Here it is checked that does this data correspond to any of the triggering values, say violation of safe distance from the objects. If it finds out that received information is demanding for some contingency action, then this information is translated into the format where defined algorithms and processes can understand it. After that, the relevant algorithm is called, and the corresponding control mechanisms are triggered to perform their designated operations. Now, this is the overview of the process of sending perception signal to the vehicle control. Let’s understand it in an interactive way by referring to a specific scenario.

Consider a situation where an autonomous vehicle is on its way to reaching the Point X. While commuting on the highway, it constantly takes perceptions from the number of sensors such as cameras and radars. A road sign was detected, calling to limit the speed to 90 km/hr. Now, it will take capture and locate this road sign on the camera and sends it to the interpreter. Here, with the help of image processing algorithms, the image will be refined and tuned to extract that 90 km is written and the detected object resembles the road sign. Now a question arises that how come interpreters will recognize it to be a road sign? It could be some sticker on some moving car. The answer lies in the intelligence of autonomous vehicles. With the use of neural networks, they are trained to distinguish amongst different road signs. The detected image when gets processed is passed on to the speed control algorithm. This speed control algorithm will activate the vehicle control system to trigger deceleration. Within no time, deceleration will continue until and unless the vehicle reaches the speed of 90 km/hr. From now, until the next perception, speed will be maintained at 90 km/hr.

All this systematic process seems to cause a lot of time delay. But, in reality, with the help of fast processors and intelligent control strategies, the process of sending perception signals to the triggering vehicle control system is extremely fast.

Conclusion

There are a lot of myths associated with the working mechanism of autonomous vehicles. To some extent establishment of these myths make some sense, as people are generally reluctant to adopt something which they have never heard. In the case of autonomous vehicles, the invention is so rich in its essence that people get astonished. For them, such inventions make sense in science fiction movies. But when it comes to realizing such concepts, they can’t believe. Taking the example of the explained process of perception building to controlling vehicles, it is very easy for people to comprehend the idea of autonomous vehicles. The involvement of high-tech algorithms and high-end perception models can surely make them believe the efficiency of autonomous vehicles.