Autonomous Vehicles: An Analysis Both on Their Distinctiveness and the Potential Impact on Urban Transport Systems

Autonomous driving is a technological innovation that involves the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the automotive area, representing the future of transport and whose applications will influence the concept of driving and many other features of modern society. Indeed, the introduction of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) on the market, along with the development of related technologies, will have a potential impact not only on the automotive industry but also on urban transport systems. New mobility-related businesses will emerge, whereas existing ones will have to adapt to changes. There are various aspects that affect urban transport systems: in this work, we highlight how road markings, intersections, and pavement design upgradings have a key role for AVs operation. This work aims to describe how contemporary society will be influenced by Autonomous Vehicles’ spread in regard to urban transport systems. A comprehensive analysis of the expected developments within urban transport systems is hereby presented, and some crucial issues concerning benefits and drawbacks are also discussed. From our studies, it emerges that the detection performed by vehicles is mainly affected by road markings characteristics, especially at intersections. Indeed, the need for a new cross-sections type arise, since vehicles wandering phenomena will be reduced due to AVs position-keeping systems.