Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Signal Processing and Machine Learning

DOI: 10.54254/2755-2721/50/20241379

The application of deep learning in autonomous driving

Tingyu Zhang
Software Engineering, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030801,
China

20211612628@stu.sxau.edu.cn

Abstract. Autonomous driving technology is currently a globally prominent subject, with its
relevance and impact readily apparent. Leveraging advanced sensors, sophisticated algorithms,
and state-of-the-art computer vision techniques, autonomous vehicles can autonomously
navigate, mitigate traffic accidents, and alleviate urban congestion. Furthermore, this
technology is poised to accelerate innovation within the automotive sector, drive industrial
advancement, and enhance people's convenience and safety in their travel experiences. The
importance of autonomous driving technology is not only reflected in its own advantages, but
also in its ability to lead the development direction of intelligent transportation in the future,
helping to promote the development of intelligent transportation systems, realize the intelligent
interconnection between vehicles and vehicles, vehicles and road infrastructure, and further
enhance the safety and convenience of traffic travel. Therefore, autonomous driving
technology is a significant innovation that will bring a better and more convenient future for
mankind. In this study, a method based on sensor internal and external parameter calibration
transformation matrix, road target detection algorithm, automatic vehicle detection method,
pedestrian intention prediction technology and automatic pedestrian recognition system are
analyzed, which are applied to object detection and obstacle avoidance. This article provides a
good overview of the field of autonomous driving.

Keywords: Automatic driving, Deep learning, Artificial intelligence.

1. Introduction
The history of artificial intelligence can be traced back to the 1950s. In the summer of 1956, J.
MeCarthy, then a young math assistant at Dartmouth and now a professor at Stanford, joined with M.
L. Minsky, a young math and neuroscientist at Harvard and a professor at MIT, N. Rochester, the head
of IBM's information research center, and C. E. Shannon, a mathematical researcher in the information
department of Bell LABS, jointly initiated a two-month academic seminar at Dartmouth University to
discuss machine intelligence. This is the formal proposal and formation stage of the concept of
artificial intelligence. Since then, artificial intelligence has gone through multiple stages of
development. Since the 1950s, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undergone a transition from symbolism
to connectionism to the rise of data-driven AI models in the early 2000s. Among them, deep learning
is the most concerned and influential technology in the field of artificial intelligence in recent years,
which has made major breakthroughs in image and speech recognition. So far, artificial intelligence
has developed into a widely used discipline, which is used in many fields such as healthcare, finance,

© 2024 The Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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manufacturing, transportation, education, and has spawned many innovative technologies and
applications, such as natural language processing, computer vision, and intelligent robots.
The main branch of AI includes machine learning: learning from data and making predictions or
decisions without having to be explicitly programmed. Deep learning: The use of deep neural
networks to simulate how humans learn. Natural language processing: involves the use of computers
to understand and generate human language. Computer vision: involves enabling computers to
interpret and understand images and videos. Speech recognition: involves the use of computers to
convert human speech into text. Robotics: includes autonomous navigation (enabling the robot to
move freely around the environment), physical interaction (enabling the robot to interact with objects),
perception (enabling the robot to understand and interpret its surroundings), and more.
The main algorithm of artificial intelligence has a decision tree: it classifies according to some
features, raises a question for each node, divides the data into two categories through judgment, and
then continues to ask questions. These questions are learned from existing data, and when new data is
added, the data can be divided into appropriate leaves based on the problem on the tree. Random forest:
Randomly select data from the source data and form several subsets. Each subset generates a decision
tree. The new data is put into the M trees, M classification results are obtained, counting to see which
category has the greatest number of predictions, and this category is used as the final prediction result.
Logistic regression: When the prediction goal is such a probability, the range needs to meet greater
than or equal to 0, less than or equal to 1, this time the simple linear model can not do, because when
the domain is not within a certain range, the range is also beyond the specified interval. There are
many other algorithms.
AI algorithms are already incorporated into multiple specific aspects of autonomous driving, such
as computer vision, sensor fusion, path planning and decision making, control algorithms, predicting
the behavior of other traffic participants, map creation and updates, swarm learning, anomaly detection
and system health monitoring, speech recognition and natural language processing, and more. This
paper intends to conduct a comprehensive research on this field.
This paper consists of the following three parts: the first part investigates some classic methods of
deep learning in automatic driving, the second part investigates different applications of deep learning
in automatic driving and analyzes and discusses them, and the last part summarizes the whole paper.

2. Method

2.1. Deep neural network

Different types of neural networks in deep learning, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNS)
[1, 2] and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) [3, 4], are revolutionizing the way interacted. These
different types of neural networks are at the heart of the deep learning revolution, powering
applications such as drones, self-driving cars, and speech recognition.
Deep neural networks are artificial neural networks made up of multiple layers of interconnected
neurons, each receiving input signals and producing output signals. Deep neural networks have strong
computational power and pattern recognition ability, can handle complex nonlinear problems, and
automatically extract features from a large amount of data. Its characteristics include parametric
efficiency, and through multiple layers of neurons and connections, the network can extract various
features from the data and abstract and combine them to achieve a deeper understanding of the data. In
addition, deep neural networks require higher computational resources to train and learn, including
larger memory requirements, more computational processors, and longer training times. Deep neural
networks are more capable of representation, and through multiple layers of neurons and connections,
they can represent and encode more complex patterns and laws. When dealing with complex problems,
deep neural networks have significant advantages in image recognition, speech recognition and natural
language processing. It also has better generalization performance and can automatically extract and
abstract the features in the input data, resulting in better generalization performance.

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DOI: 10.54254/2755-2721/50/20241379

2.2. Processing of visual perception system of autonomous vehicle based on deep learning
The research uses deep learning techniques to build models that automatically recognize and
distinguish target objects, which can extract meaningful information from images and identify
different objects. Using computer vision technology, a model that can identify target objects such as
vehicles, pedestrians and obstacles is established. The model uses image processing and machine
learning technology to automatically identify different types of target objects through the analysis and
processing of image features. The above two models are combined to form a complete visual
perception system for autonomous vehicles, which can realize the perception and recognition of the
surrounding environment and provide basic data support for decision-making and control of
autonomous vehicles. Both target detection and target recognition adopt deep learning technology,
using a large number of labeled image and video data to train the neural network model. In this paper,
a method based on the calibration transformation matrix of internal and external parameters of the
sensor is also proposed [5], and the result of target detection is uniformly mapped to the coordinate
system of the vehicle, improving the accuracy of the detection result.

2.3. Research on road target detection algorithm based on deep learning

This research uses deep learning technology to realize automatic detection and recognition of road
objects in images. An automatic vehicle detection method based on convolutional neural network is
proposed, which uses CNN to extract image features and traditional computer vision technology, such
as sliding window method [6], to realize object detection. An improved particle swarm optimization
(PSO) based network structure design method is proposed to improve the efficiency and accuracy of
network training. Using multi-scale feature fusion technology, the features of different scales are fused
to achieve more precise feature extraction and analysis. Experiments show that the proposed method is
robust to road traffic scenarios in complex environments. This study provides an important theoretical
and practical basis for the research and development of road object detection, and points out the future
development direction. A road target detection algorithm based on deep learning is proposed, which
uses CNN to extract image features and classify targets. Use sliding window method to search the
target. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has better adaptability in complex
scenarios, and can accurately classify and detect pedestrian or vehicle targets in traffic intersections.
Finally, the proposed algorithm is verified by experiments and compared with other algorithms. The
experimental results show that the algorithm has high accuracy and real-time performance, and can be
applied to different road scenes and different weather conditions.

2.4. Research on pedestrian tracking and trajectory prediction on urban roads based on deep
learning
This research uses deep learning technology to realize accurate identification and tracking of
pedestrians through computer vision. A set of automatic pedestrian recognition systems is designed,
which innovatively combines visual detection and trajectory prediction to improve the understanding
of pedestrian behavior pattern. Infrared multi-person tracking technology is used to improve tracking
accuracy and achieve accurate tracking effect. Aiming at the problem of pedestrian target detection
and classification, a simple and efficient algorithm is designed to segment the region of interest
quickly and accurately, which is the basis for subsequent processing. A pedestrian intent prediction
technique is also proposed to predict whether a pedestrian will cross a vehicle or street. Traditional
pedestrian detection algorithms require a large number of training samples, and the actual scene is
dynamic or unknown, so a new pedestrian detection and classification technology is proposed to adapt
to the analysis of pedestrian behavior in complex environments [7]. A deep neural network (such as
Faster-RCNN) is used to train the images in the video stream, extract pedestrian features, and realize
the recognition of pedestrian location, action state, identity and other information. By using infrared
multi-person tracking technology, multi-feature fusion and trajectory prediction means, high precision
positioning and trajectory prediction are realized. Traffic lights are also classified and designed.
Comprehensive use of deep learning technology, pedestrian detection, trajectory prediction and

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intention prediction organic combination, to achieve a comprehensive understanding and prediction of

pedestrian behavior on urban roads, to provide solutions for the safety and efficiency of autonomous
driving.

2.5. Research on predictive tasks of autonomous vehicles based on explainable deep learning
The research uses deep learning techniques to predict and make decisions about the environment
around autonomous vehicles to achieve more accurate and efficient results. Based on the data in the
field of intelligent transportation, the research extracts the factors that affect the change of vehicle
behavior and the relationship between these factors, and establishes an interpretable deep learning
model for predicting vehicle behavior. The model builds a feature space about traffic state according
to road information and other factors, trains the deep neural network to get the final vehicle behavior
prediction network, and presents the prediction results using visual interpretation technology. The
study also proposes a pedestrian behavior prediction model, which learns pedestrian behavior patterns
in historical data, predicts pedestrian behavior in the future period of time, and uses situational graph
technology to present the interaction between pedestrians and vehicles. Finally, this study presented
with an autonomous driving decision-making model based on reinforcement learning. By applying
reinforcement learning method to the decision model, it has the ability to deal with the traffic situation
in different scenarios. The model can intelligently make corresponding driving decisions according to
the current state of the autonomous vehicle and the surrounding environment information, thus
improving driving efficiency and safety. In addition, this paper also conducted the preliminary design
and development of the autonomous driving decision support system assisted by augmented reality. In
short, Wang Qi proposed a solution based on deep learning technology, which improved the accuracy
and reliability of autonomous vehicle prediction and decision making, and provided a reference for the
future autonomous driving decision making system.

3. Applications and discussion

3.1. Object detection

Deep learning is widely used in autonomous driving object detection and can assist systems to
recognize a variety of objects, such as vehicles, pedestrians, and traffic signs [8]. The research focuses
on vehicle detection, attention mechanisms and distance estimation. Deep learning models are
commonly used for vehicle detection, among which the more popular are convolutional neural
networks (CNN) and Long short-term memory networks (LSTM) [9]. In recent years, deep learning
has made significant progress in object detection, with algorithms such as YOLO, FasterR-CNN, and
SSD improving detection efficiency. Novel neural network structures such as ResNet and attention
mechanisms improve feature representation and model performance. However, deep learning is
limited by image quality and lighting conditions, requiring high computational resources and hardware,
and poor interpretability. In the future, it is necessary to continue to study the technology and
application of deep learning in the object detection of automatic driving, improve the accuracy and
stability of the algorithm, and explore efficient and interpretable model and algorithm design.

3.2. Avoid obstacle

Deep learning is widely used in automatic driving obstacle avoidance, which can assist the system to
identify and predict obstacles on the road, and then take measures to avoid obstacles. The algorithm is
designed and trained on the basis of CNNS, RNNS and other neural networks. For example, using
CNN to determine the type and location of obstacles [10]; RNN predicts the future trajectory of
obstacles and formulates obstacle avoidance strategies. Combined with sensor fusion technology, it
improves accuracy and robustness. In recent years, the research of deep learning obstacle avoidance
has developed rapidly, and measures such as improving the network structure and optimizing the
training algorithm have significantly improved the model performance. However, deep learning also
has some limitations and challenges when it comes to obstacle avoidance in autonomous driving. First,

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the training requires a large amount of data, and the acquisition and processing of these data will take a
lot of time and resources. Second, the model has poor interpretability, and it is difficult to give the
reasons and basis for specific decisions. It is difficult for drivers to believe and accept the obstacle
avoidance strategies generated by deep learning algorithms. In the future, it is necessary to further
explore the technology and application of deep learning in the obstacle avoidance of automatic driving,
improve the accuracy and stability of the algorithm, and explore more efficient and interpretable
model structure and algorithm design.

4. Conclusion
In the field of autonomous driving, the application of deep learning has made remarkable progress,
injecting new vitality into the development of the field. With the development of artificial intelligence
technology, autonomous driving will enter a new era. Trained with deep neural networks, autonomous
vehicles can recognize and learn from road markings, obstacles, pedestrians, and other traffic
participants, and make decisions and predictions in real time. Deep learning has already been
successfully applied to driverless cars. Moreover, deep learning has been pivotal in advancing
perception and decision-making algorithms for adaptable vehicle navigation across diverse driving
environments and conditions, extending its applications to autonomous driving systems including
traffic light management, lane departure detection, and driver assistance functions, as it continues to
evolve. However, there are still many challenges to deep learning, including the scarcity of data, the
limitations of generalization, and the lack of interpretability. There are many ways to improve the
performance of deep networks, but there are many shortcomings. In order to further promote the
application of deep learning in the field of autonomous driving, future research needs to devote more
effort to solving these problems.

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