Why we chose the Lexus RX450h
Creating an unmanned vehicle is an extremely exciting activity filled with many engineering challenges. One of them is the choice of the correct base (car) for the future unmanned system. As you may have noticed from previous posts, OSCAR uses Lexus RX450h, and we made this choice for a reason.
')
Electric control (no hydraulics)
Our software should be able to control the mechanical subsystems of the car (gas, brake, steering, etc.) and the easiest way to do this is with the help of electronic controls. Otherwise, we would have to install additional equipment in the car in the form of actuators and servo drives in order to control the steering wheel and gas / brake.
CAN bus
The most common standard in the automotive industry. Since OSCAR is an open-source project, we are interested in attracting the maximum number of enthusiasts to the project. Choosing to FlexRay / LIN or another standard would severely limit the range of vehicles supported by the project. In addition, StarLine has over 10 years of experience with CAN.
Hybrid
Hybrid cars not only cause less damage to the environment, but also have powerful batteries that can be used to power additional equipment (computing unit, GPU, lidars, cameras, etc.). Moreover, the software (neural networks, computer vision, data processing) has great power consumption and a standard car battery would not be enough.
One of the most suitable for unmanned technology car, used by companies Udacity, Pony.AI, Drive.AI and some others. In addition, the car is supported by the Apollo platform. However, it has a high cost.
Pros:
Minuses:
Pretty reliable hybrid in the third generation. Companies like Waymo and Yandex use this car in their decisions.
Pros:
Minuses:
Product premium divisions Hyundai. Provides access to almost all car subsystems at the program level, which is extremely important for AV (unmanned vehicle). Not very popular in Russia, therefore, maintenance and modification may be difficult.
Pros:
Minuses:
In the end, won the RX450h. The model of the premium unit Toyota has almost everything we need + comfort and reliability. Apple and some other companies successfully use this car.
Pros:
Minuses:
Now we have a car, so it's time for us to move on and talk about what we are going to build. In one of the following publications we will tell about the OSCAR platform and our plans for the future.
GitLab project
Candidates
')
- Lincoln mkz
- Toyota Prius
- Genesis G80
- Lexus RX 450h
Initial requirements
Electric control (no hydraulics)
Our software should be able to control the mechanical subsystems of the car (gas, brake, steering, etc.) and the easiest way to do this is with the help of electronic controls. Otherwise, we would have to install additional equipment in the car in the form of actuators and servo drives in order to control the steering wheel and gas / brake.
CAN bus
The most common standard in the automotive industry. Since OSCAR is an open-source project, we are interested in attracting the maximum number of enthusiasts to the project. Choosing to FlexRay / LIN or another standard would severely limit the range of vehicles supported by the project. In addition, StarLine has over 10 years of experience with CAN.
Hybrid
Hybrid cars not only cause less damage to the environment, but also have powerful batteries that can be used to power additional equipment (computing unit, GPU, lidars, cameras, etc.). Moreover, the software (neural networks, computer vision, data processing) has great power consumption and a standard car battery would not be enough.
Lincoln mkz
One of the most suitable for unmanned technology car, used by companies Udacity, Pony.AI, Drive.AI and some others. In addition, the car is supported by the Apollo platform. However, it has a high cost.
Pros:
- electronic gearbox
- electric power steering
- adaptive cruise control
- hybrid (powerful built-in batteries)
Minuses:
- not sold in Russia, the difficulty of those. Service
- high price ($ 47,000 + taxes + shipping)
- long delivery from the USA
Toyota Prius
Pretty reliable hybrid in the third generation. Companies like Waymo and Yandex use this car in their decisions.
Pros:
- hybrid (powerful built-in batteries)
- large display (can be used for visualization)
- automatic parking
- electric power steering
- electronic gearbox
Minuses:
- no adaptive cruise control
- not very spacious interior
Genesis G80
Product premium divisions Hyundai. Provides access to almost all car subsystems at the program level, which is extremely important for AV (unmanned vehicle). Not very popular in Russia, therefore, maintenance and modification may be difficult.
Pros:
- electric power steering
- electronic gearbox
- adaptive cruise control with stop & go function
- automatic parking
Minuses:
- not a hybrid (you'll have to install an extra battery)
Lexus RX 450h (winner)
In the end, won the RX450h. The model of the premium unit Toyota has almost everything we need + comfort and reliability. Apple and some other companies successfully use this car.
Pros:
- electric power steering
- adaptive cruise control
- hybrid (powerful built-in batteries)
- Lexus is popular in Russia (just maintenance and modification)
- Built-in AEB (Auto Emergency Braking)
- Built-in character recognition
- Built-in retention system
Minuses:
- not electronic gearbox (which is not critical yet)
Now we have a car, so it's time for us to move on and talk about what we are going to build. In one of the following publications we will tell about the OSCAR platform and our plans for the future.
GitLab project
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/441944/
All Articles