Weather Aerodynamic Adaptation for Autonomous Vehicles: A Tentative Framework

Abstract

While Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are potentially the future of transportation, one of the main issues that need to be addressed is their behaviour and response to adverse weather conditions. Herein we propose a research frame to understand and mitigate the impact of weather stressors (wind, rain, snow, ice, and fog) on AVs. A recently launched initiative to design and engineer an indigenous Canadian road vehicle serves as a background for this intended framework. The proposed frame consists of: (i) on-road testing and numerical (CFD) simulations to derive statistically significant critical weather conditions (weather design cases, WDCs); (ii) simulation of these weather conditions in the ACE climatic wind tunnel at Ontario Tech University, Canada in order to (iii) identify adaptive controls to minimize the effects of the WDCs on vehicles improving their aerodynamics, safety, and sensor functionality. This framework is intended to: (i) provoke discussions among the AV industry and research stakeholders in Canada and elsewhere and (ii) provide a context for future research in related areas such as AV aerodynamics, maneuverability, weather impacts (e.g. wind, rain, snow, ice and fog), sensors and soiling.