Abstract

This chapter introduces the main technology bricks and some related socioeconomic aspects of automated driving. Vehicles automation technology is advancing at a vertiginous pace. However, the complexity behind some highly uncertain and dynamic driving scenarios imposes the need to distinguish between the different automation levels. This chapter starts from these considerations to elaborate thereafter on the maturity of the currently used technologies—situation awareness, risk assessment, decision-making, human–machine interaction, planning, control—and their near future possibilities. The introduction of connectivity among vehicles and with the digital world brings a number of new opportunities, when combined with automation, that are introduced with the focus on cooperative automated driving. After presenting this technological panorama, different relevant projects are described with the aim to understand the differences between the existing prototypes and the upcoming products and services. In this connection, Verification and Validation is still a contention point that will need to provide solutions to open problems that are also evoked in the chapter. To finalize with a full picture, the current regulatory pathways and some ethical issues are also described.