On the application of Policy-based Frameworks to Autonomous Vehicles

In this paper, we describe the application of policy-based frameworks to autonomous vehicles (AVs) to define, manage and distribute traffic rules on the road against which AVs (like any other vehicles) must be conformant. Policy-based frameworks have been used in other contexts to regulate and manage access to resources, but their application to AVs and traffic rules has not been substantially investigated in the research literature. In this paper, the authors provide an analysis on the applicability of policy-based frameworks to AVs and their potential benefits in comparison to other techniques to distribute and implement traffic rules. A possible implementation of a specific policy-based framework developed by the authors is described for two AV scenarios for the enforcement of road transportation regulations and dynamic management of traffic rules. Finally, an analysis of the deployment aspects of such framework is provided