Shared Autonomous Vehicles Ontology

Abstract

After rapid technological developments, especially over the past decade, autonomous vehicle (i.e., self-driving) technology is expected to be ready for wide deployment soon, with large implications for urban mobility. It is generally accepted that one of the main benefits of self-driving cars could be reduced road congestion, as current roads are expected to have much higher capacity if most of the traffic is shared by autonomous vehicles. On the other hand, the convenience of autonomous vehicles can generate significant further traffic, both from people who currently are not able or prefer not to drive, and more generally, through the concept that increased road and parking capacity often leads to increased traffic. Further gains are expected by using shared autonomous vehicles instead of private ones, with people buying mobility as a service (MaaS), bringing new services to the market such as shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) instead of just buying cars. SAV concept is an autonomous rental vehicle flowing from point A to point B that controls all driving functions for an entire trip by itself without any human intervention, such as steering, braking, and acceleration, which are performed by a computer system that operates with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The surrounding environment is perceived by sensors, cameras, and LiDAR technology. The vehicle navigates to a location/direction through GPS and computer mapping. SAVs enable users to get the benefits of a autonomous private vehicle use without the cost of ownership. Once arrived at the destination, travelers do not have to search for a parking lot or pay for it. This paper will focus on the development of an Ontology for SAVs.