Adapting U.S. Army Acquisition to Ensure the Reliability and Safety of Autonomous Vehicles

This report presents several challenges that the U.S. Army will face in the transition to autonomous vehicles, challenges that are only magnified in the current acquisition environment with limited testing. Artificial intelligence algorithms introduce additional complexity, resulting in systems with a complex combination of human, machine, and autonomous controllers.

Army DEVCOM Analysis Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become prevalent in many fields in the modern world, ranging from vacuum cleaners to lawn mowers and commercial automobiles. These capabilities are continuing to evolve and become a part of more products and systems every day, with numerous potential benefits to humans. AI is of particular interest in autonomous vehicles (AVs), where the benefits include reduced cognitive workload, increased efficiency, and improved safety for human operators. Numerous investments from academia and industry have been made recently with the intent of improving the enabling technologies for AVs. Google and Tesla are two of the more well-known examples in industry, with Google developing a self-driving car and Tesla providing its Full Self-Driving (FSD) autopilot system. Ford and BMW are also working on their own AVs.

These systems continue to remain a challenge despite these investments. Recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations involving Tesla highlight the importance and difficulty of these technologies. NHTSA Campaign Number 23V085000 (NHSTA, 2023a) involves the recall of over 300,000 vehicles equipped with the FSD Beta system. The recall summary states that the FSD Beta system may result in unsafe actions with the vehicle. These unsafe actions include traveling straight through an intersection while in a turn-only lane, entering a STOP sign-controlled intersection without coming to a complete stop, and proceeding without caution into an intersection during a steady yellow traffic signal. The recall also states that the system may fail to respond to changes in posted speed limits and not account for the driver's adjustment of the vehicle's speed beyond these limits.