The MPAI Connected Autonomous Vehicles (MPAI-CAV) standard project seeks to define identified CAV standard components that fit in Subsystems – 4 identified so far – for each of which a Reference Model (RM) is defined. A RM includes:

  1. Components
  2. Components functions
  3. Components interfaces
  4. Interconnection of components of a Subsystem.

The Subsystems Reference Models identify and describe the requirements of the data types received or generated by the AIMs in each subsystem. Therefore they allows researchers to select data, define testing setups, propose updated interfaces, conduct contests, consider the influence of external components, and subdivide workload in a way that allows unambiguous comparison of results.

Table 1 identifies and names the 4 Subsystems and describes their acronyms.

Table 1 – The 5 MPAI-CAV Subsystems

Subsystem name Acr. Function
Human-CAV interaction HCI Handles human-CAV interactions.
Environment Sensing Sub­system ESS Acquires information from the Environment via a variety of sensor.
Autonomous Motion Sub­system AMS Issues commands to drive the CAV to the intended des­tination.
Motion Actuation Sub­system MAS Provides Environment information and receives/a­ctu­ates motion commands in the physical world.

Each of the 4 Subsystems is meant to be implemented as an instance of the MPAI-defined AI Framework (AIF).

This is not the first proposes CAV Reference Model. However, and unlike previously published papers, the MPAI Reference Models has the following features:

  1. It adopts a holistic approach that includes all IT components of a CAV;
  2. The components of the AIF standards, namely, the AI Framework (AIF) itself, the notion of AI Workflow (AIW) and the notion of processing units called AI Modules (AIM) as the unifying elements that determine the Functions and the Data Formats of all CAV components;
  3. AI Modules (AIM) with Functions and Data Formats that are being or already specified in other MPAI standards;
  4. Focus on Data Formats exchanged by AIMs rather than focus on the AIMs themselves whose internals are not part of the standard but left to proprietary implementations, as long as they perform the identified funxtions and expose the identified interfaces with the specified data formats.
  5. A process where research is seamlessly integrated with a subsequent standardisation process.

The current result of the effort is a document called MPAI-CAV Use Cases and Functional Requirements whose goal is:

  1. To collect and describe the 4 identified subsystems.
  2. To identify the functions, and the input and output data of the AIWs that implement the subsystems.
  3. To identify the Topology of the AIMs making up the AIWs.
  4. To identify the Functions, and the input and output Data Formats of the AIMs required to realise the AIWs.

The series of publications deals with:

  1. Why an MPAI-CAV standard?
  2. Introduction to MPAI-CAV Subsystems
  3. Human-CAV interaction
  4. Environment Sensing Subsystem
  5. CAV to Everything
  6. Autonomous Motion Subsystem
  7. Motion Actuation Subsystem

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