Thesis Project – Landmark Detection for Autonomous Vehicles

Scania is now undergoing a transformation from being a supplier of trucks, buses and engines to a supplier of complete and sustainable transport solutions.

Background                                              

Autonomous vehicle development at Scania is advancing at a very high pace and self-driving trucks and buses on public roads will soon be commonplace. Autonomous Transport Solutions (ATS) Research at Scania is responsible for developing, testing and piloting future frontier ATS concepts. This work is done using agile and self-steered teams with the ambition to detect and evaluate upcoming technologies and prepare these for industrialization. We work in close cooperation with Volkswagen Group Innovation, leading technology suppliers and academic institutions.

This thesis work will lie under the supervision of the Maps and Localization team, known as EARD, we are responsible for Maps for Highly autonomous driving and Localization of autonomous vehicles.

You will work closely with the members of this highly competent multicultural team, instrumental in developing cutting-edge autonomous technologies where your ideas will be encouraged and embraced.

Description

A critical requirement for safe autonomous driving is to have an accurate global localization of the ego vehicle. Methods based on Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) are the most common and can be sufficiently precise. However, GNSS-based methods are limited to areas with good satellite signal. To get robust localization even in GNSS denied areas, landmark based localization (LBL) can be used instead. In LBL, sensors onboard the vehicle detect landmarks near the vehicle. With these detections, the position of the vehicle is deduced by looking up matching landmarks in a high-definition map (HD map). In this thesis, the student will be part of LBL development and explore methods for detecting lane markings using a fusion of lidar and camera data.

In this thesis you will: Conduct a literature study on the state-of-the-art lane mark detection methods; Design and implement an algorithm for lane mark detection; Model the uncertainty of the detections; Evaluate the performance with the existing solutions at Scania.

We are open to the exploration of innovative ideas and if feasible the applicant might also get a chance to submit her/his results to a reputable research conference or even submit a patent application.

Education

The applicant should pursue a master program in Applied Physics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or similar. The applicant is expected to have a strong background on mathematics. The applicant should have sufficient software development knowledge to be able to implement efficient algorithm that run in real time. The applicant should be able to work in a diverse environment and communicate effectively in English. The personal traits of being agile, giving/receiving constructive feedback and taking initiatives will come handy.

Time plan

The project is planned for 20 weeks and can be started any time in early Spring 2022.
Applicants will be assessed on continuous basis until the position is filled.

Communication of the Results

The results will be described in a report, published on Scania’s internal web and by the applicants’ university, and be shown in presentations at Scania. The prototype tool will be made available to Scania.

Supervisors

Isak Källman, MSc., Development Engineer, Maps and Localization, ATS research, isak.kallman@scania.com

Anders Blom, MSc., Development Engineer, Maps and Localization, ATS research, anders.x.blom@scania.com

Application

The application should include CV, grades, and motivation letter. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Publication period

2021-11-02 – 2021-12-03


Scania is a world-leading provider of transport solutions. Together with our partners and customers we are driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system. In 2020, we delivered 66,900 trucks, 5,200 buses as well as 11,000 industrial and marine power systems to our customers. Net sales totalled to over SEK 125 billion, of which over 20 percent were services-related. Founded in 1891, Scania now operates in more than 100 countries and employs some 50,000 people. Research and development are mainly concentrated in Sweden. Production takes place in Europe and Latin America with regional product centres in Africa, Asia and Eurasia. Scania is part of TRATON GROUP. For more information visit: www.scania.com.