Improving autonomous truck performance
Key Focus Area:
Next Generation Ports
How can the operational performance of existing autonomous truck deployments be improved in inclement weather conditions?
BACKGROUND
In a bid to improve port efficiency, PSA Corporation Limited (PSA Singapore) has embarked on several automation initiatives, one of which is utilising autonomous trucks for handling container movements within the port. However, these trucks are typically deployed in outdoor environments 24/7 and are exposed to inclement weather conditions, which affect their performance and disrupt operations. As such, how can the operational performance of existing autonomous truck deployments be improved in inclement weather conditions?
SIGNIFICANCE OF PROBLEM
- Heavy rain can interfere with sensors (e.g. lidar, cameras) used by autonomous vehicles (AV) for perception and decision-making
- Raindrops might create sensor noise or obstruct the surroundings, leading to reduced accuracy and potentially causing the vehicle to either stop or take a course of action contrary to its intended behaviour
- Reflections from water on the ground might hinder perception abilities
- Camera/vision-based sensors might be occluded when the rain is too heavy
POTENTIAL MARKET SIZE
- Total market size could also include other AV deployments in the logistics sector locally that face similar constraints
EXISTING EFFORTS
- Sensor fusion using a variety of inputs from different sensors
- Software filtering/de-noising solutions to reduce the impact of rain
- These existing solutions are insufficient as the autonomous truck is still unable to function as well as a human driver piloting the truck
SOLUTION SUCCESS PARAMETERS
- Has to improve autonomous truck performance to match the operating capabilities of a human driver in similar conditions (i.e. if a driver can continue driving, so should the AV)
- Agnostic to existing AV architecture/brands and can be implemented or integrated with the AV stack of multiple vendors
- Should not cause degradation or impact the performance of existing solutions
POTENTIAL SOLUTION SPACES
- Software or hardware that can augment existing sensors
