The roll-out of autonomous driving in 2021 and beyond

Yesterday (16-03-2021), Assembly Ventures hosted a web-event entitled “The roll-out of autonomous driving in 2021 and beyond”.  Composed by a series of roundtables, the event focused on the newest developments in and novel approaches towards autonomous driving with leading experts from corporate and start-up in the field around the world.

CITA, represented by its President Mr. G. Müller, participated at the event stating its position to pave the way for a safe and stepwise rollout of automated and connected driving functions.

Even if there is still a large regulatory gap between the registration (type approval) and market launch of the new automated functions, new rules will make it possible to carry out valid and independent inspections on these new technologies.

CITA identified some further steps that are still needed to validate all automated driving systems in the future and to guarantee their safe use:

• First, we need a harmonization of approval processes for automated vehicles at international and European level.
• Second, we need a non-discriminatory access for independent third parties to original safety-related data from automated vehicles. A government-approved „data trust center “would be appropriate. Authorized agencies should control a fair access to vehicle data.
• Third, we need legal regulations and independent certification for the authenticity, security, and confidentiality of the data exchange as well as for compliance with all data protection regulations.
• And finally, we need to develop methods and procedures for:
  • The evaluation criteria of automated driving functions
  • The evaluation and approval of security-relevant software updates
  • The virtual tests and, where necessary, additional physical tests
  • The assessment of the residual risk of the systems and the vehicle

In order to ensure the safe and secure operation of these systems throughout the whole life cycle of the vehicle, these systems must be checked not only during type-approval, but also during vehicle operation. For this purpose, periodical vehicle inspection and a continuous analysis of vehicle safety data is appropriate.

Only if these systems permanently comply with legal requirements do vehicles retain their high safety potential throughout their entire life cycle. This is the prerequisite for the society to accept and trust autonomous and connected vehicles.