Towards Automated Driving: Unmanned Protective Vehicle for Highway Hard Shoulder Road Works

Mobile road works on the hard shoulder of German highways bear an increased accident risk for the crew of the protective vehicle which safeguards road works against moving traffic. The project “Automated Unmanned Protective Vehicle for Highway Hard Shoulder Road Works” aims at the unmanned operation of the protective vehicle in order to reduce this risk. Simultaneously, this means the very first unmanned operation of a vehicle on German roads in public traffic. This contribution introduces the project by pointing out the main objectives and demonstrates the current state of the system design regarding functionality, modes of operation, as well as the functional system architecture. Pivotal for the project, the scientific challenges raised by the unmanned operation - strongly related to the general challenges in the field of automated driving - are presented as well. The results of the project shall serve as a basis to stimulate an advanced discussion about ensuring safety for fully automated vehicles in public traffic operating at higher speeds and in less defined environments. Thus, this contribution aims at contacting the scientific community in an early state of the project.