Remote Operation – An Important Pillar by DLR for the Mobility of the Future

DLR is researching how connected and automated vehicles can be supported by a human remote assistant in the future. Part of this effort is examining how a remote assistant's workplace can be designed and to test it in simulation and real-world environments.

The Institute of Transportation Systems at the German Aerospace Center conducts extensive research on a key component of future mobility: the development and implementation of tele-assistance for connected and automated vehicles, as well as the design of workplaces for remote support.

In the mobility of the future, connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) will be able to perform most driving tasks independently. Nevertheless, situations occasionally arise in which the vehicles need human assistance. If the vehicle cannot proceed by itself, safety comes first. This usually means pulling over to the side of the road and stopping. In order to continue the ride safely and quickly, the DLR Institute of Transportation Systems is researching how to remotely assist these vehicles from a distance. In unclear situations, the CAV can request support from a remote assistance via a data link.

The legal framework for deploying CAVs is already in place, both in the European Union and in Germany. The “Automated Driving Systems Act” of the EU gives rise to remote intervention of CAVs in 2022 while in Germany, the "Autonomous Driving Act" came into force in July 2021 already and was regulated in more detail in the "Autonomous Driving Ordinance". Remote assistance plays a vital role in both laws.

Equipped with user interfaces such as monitors and headsets, several remote assistants could be working together in a control center in the future and guide CAVs through difficult situations. For example, if a delivery vehicle is double-parked ahead of the CAV, the CAV will not drive over a solid line to pass the delivery vehicle by itself but will instead stop. Similar situations may arise in the context of roadworks that have not been detected and shared across road users and are therefore unknown to the CAV.

Remote Assistance: A Key Enabler for Highly Automated Driving (SAE 4)
Highly automated vehicles (SAE 4) are becoming ever more sophisticated. However, due to the sheer number of potential situations the vehicle may encounter, its automation is not yet capable of dealing seamlessly with all of them. Remote Assistance as a type of remote operation is a way to take care of challenges that exceed the vehicle automation’s capability. Monitoring the vehicle and supporting it from a distance helps to make automated driving operations safer and more reliable. The video presents DLR’s conceptualization of Remote Assistance and spotlights its Remote Assistance Workplace.
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In numerous national and international projects at DLR, we are conducting very application-oriented research into what information remote assistants will need at their workplace in the future in order to be able to support CAVs quickly and safely in situations that are unclear for the automated driving system. We are envisioning a holistic system of remote assistance that spans from the CAV to the remote assistant, incorporating intelligent traffic infrastructure, interaction with passengers and other road users, as well as connectivity aspects. Our fleet of automated research vehicles and connected simulators helps us test remote assistance. The Test Bed Lower Saxony enables us to extend our tests to a real-world road environment so we can examine how to deploy remote assistance solutions “out there” on the road.