Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
12-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Mechanical Engineering
Major Professor
Subhadeep Chakraborty
Committee Members
Subhadeep Chakraborty, Asad Khattak, Hairong Qi, Zhenbo Wang
Abstract
Even as extensive efforts are put in to the research and development of self-driving vehicles, many safety concerns persist. On-road testing presents unrealistic costs for manufacturers, leading to a development cycle that moves into deployment before sufficient validation has occurred. Additionally, there are a multiplicity of driving scenarios that combine in various ways to define what safe driving behaviors look like, and it is not clear what finite set of scenarios would constitute a valid safety test. In my doctoral dissertation, we thoroughly examine virtual simulation as a tool to overcome these obstacles toward the validation of self-driving vehicles. There are two primary threads that tie all of the work described in this dissertation together: diagnostic clarity and realism. Both of these concepts are explored through original research and novel approaches, expanding the capability of virtual simulation as a tool for validation of real-world self-driving cars.
Recommended Citation
Beck, Joseph William, "Advancing Safety Validation & Testing of Autonomous Vehicles Using Advanced Simulation Techniques. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2024.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11335
