Development of Autonomous Intelligent Driving System to Enhance Safe and Secured Traffic Society for Elderly Drivers – Autonomous Collision Avoidance System with Hazard Anticipation Driver Characteristics –

In the aged society of Japan, accidents involving elderly drivers are increasing every year owing to their declined physical ability in terms of recognition and decision-making. An autonomous intelligent driving system is one of the promising technologies that can enhance safety and security for elderly drivers. This paper focuses on a situation in which drivers need to make a right turn at an intersection while negotiating pedestrians near a crosswalk region. An autonomous collision avoidance system associated with the electric braking torque of an electric vehicle is designed with the application of potential field theory while considering potential hazards because of occlusions at an intersection. Finally, the effectiveness of the autonomous collision avoidance systemis verified by computer simulations and driving experiments using a micro-scale electric vehicle.