On the Integration of Enabling Wireless Technologies and Sensor Fusion for Next-Generation Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

The automotive industry is transitioning towards intelligent, connected, and autonomous vehicles to avoid traffic congestion, conflicts, and collisions with increased driver safety. Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) must be aware of their surroundings and act as per their environment. Communication infrastructure can be vital in transmitting necessary information to peers and receiving critical information for timely decisions. This article provides a comprehensive review of the topic, covering the aspects of enabling wireless technologies and sensor fusion. The article reviews data acquisition using various sensing devices such as RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging), LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), cameras, and multi-modal sensor fusion of the acquired data after signal processing. Thereafter, it reviews the communication and networking infrastructure for intra- and inter-vehicle communication and related technologies. For each of these themes, research challenges and future directions have been identified.