HD Maps for Connected and Automated Vehicles: Enabling Technologies and Future Directions

The road environment is changing all the time. Dynamic road events could disrupt our daily commutes causing inconvenience and less safer roads for many road users. Examples of these road events include road accidents or stalled vehicles on the road shoulder that may disrupt the traffic leading to a road hazard, traffic congestion or lane closure. Other unforeseen events that did not receive much attention include off-road events such as double parked vehicles or a fallen tree in a residential area that may affect the road users' safety and convenience. Additionally, another key factor is the limited perception capabilities for both humans and on-board sensors that prevent them from seeing through or even knowing about such events. Real-time High Definition (HD) map updates will play a significant safety role in the connected and automated mobility era. However, out-dated HD maps will have a huge adverse impact on automated driving vehicles, since partial critical decisions are based on real time information acquired from these maps. This could also be extended to assisted driving vehicles but with lesser impact as the human involvement coexists.