German auto supplier Bosch and Dutch traffic mapping firm TomTom have created a map which uses radar signals for automated driving.
The HD map has integrated Radar Road Signature layer for the localisation of vehicles in autonomous driving.
The Radar Road Signature layer will enable automated vehicles to identify their exact location on a road down to a few centimeters, working in conjunction with the TomTom HD Map.
The Bosch Radar Road Signature only needs to transmit 5 kilobytes of data to a cloud per kilometer.
Bosch’s radar road signature is made up of billions of individual reflection points. These are formed everywhere that radar signals hit including crash barriers or road signs and can reproduce the course a road takes.
According to Bosch, high resolution maps generated from the radar system are essential for automated driving and to provide information that can go beyond the area where sensors can monitor.
An automated vehicle can locate its position in a lane by using a localisation layer on an additional video localisation map. It can compare the information about objects that it received through the surrounding sensors using corresponding information from localisation layer.
A planning layer in the system can help to calculate individual maneuvers during automated driving. This also contains information about the course of road, traffic signs and speed limits along with bends and gradients. This layer, for example can help the vehicle to decide when to change lanes.
TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn said: “We’ve been working hard to create the HD Map needed for autonomous driving, including localisation attributes such as TomTom’s RoadDNA.
"It’s exciting to be launching this additional localisation layer with Bosch in the form of the Radar Road Signature – that greatly increases the robustness of localisation under all circumstances.”
Bosch board of management member Dirk Hoheisel said: “The radar road signature is a milestone on the path towards automated driving. It will enable automated vehicles to reliably determine their location at all times.
“The radar road signature is a milestone on the path towards automated driving. It will enable automated vehicles to reliably determine their location at all times. ”
