Gereon Meyer - Road Vehicle Automation 8

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Without any doubt was 2020 an exceptional year, and 2021 continues to do so. Much has been discussed during those times in terms of what automated vehicles (AV) can contribute during critical situations like a pandemic and beyond. It was supposed that driverless vehicles would be very well suited to arrange for contactless delivery of goods and transportation of people. But, one also needs to attest that at a time where the normal traffic ceased, people kept distance all-around, and home delivery became the default; AVs were seemingly not yet ready to step up and fulfill their promise. This raises the question of how mature the promised future of transportation actually is. Rightfully so, as further progress in the technologies for environment perception, intention recognition and decision making, more real-world trials and further discourse on impacts and framework conditions will be needed to finally enter the intriguing world of level 4 automation.

In that sense, we are thankful for the contributions to this eighth edition of the Road Vehicle Automation books from our very much appreciated authors who tackle topics in technology, policy, business and other disciplines that all need to work together to make automated vehicles a reality. All those individuals make sure that we keep documenting the progress in road vehicle automation as it was discussed at the Automated Vehicle Symposium (AVS), held as a virtual event in July 2020. And while those contributions show great progress in their respective fields, we are also very appreciative of the unanswered questions and recommendations for further work that the authors point out.

While this book might feel a bit lighter than the previous seven volumes, we are heavily indebted to the contributors who dedicated their time during the unprecedented year that 2020 was. We do not want to rule out that, despite of the challenges of the pandemic, the consolidation that seems to have reached the automated vehicle sector might have an influence on the contents covered in this book; however, we also maintain that companies are moving closer to deployment and therefore relevant subjects get more proprietary and in return less talked about. To this effect, we absolutely observe that the field of road vehicle automation is as vibrant as ever, has more applicability than ever and might be as close to deployment as never before.