An Automated Driving Standard
In the recently published “Safety First for Automated Driving” (SaFAD) white paper, eleven companies from the automotive industry and automated driving sector present a framework for the development, testing and validation of safe automated passenger vehicles. The eleven companies are Aptiv, Audi, Baidu, BMW, Continental, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, HERE, Infineon, Intel and Volkswagen.
One of SaFAD’s aims is to emphasize the importance of safety by design, along with verification and validation, as the industry works toward creating a standard for automated driving. SaFAD offers automated vehicle developers and operators a system for clear traceability that extends from the primary goal of being “safer than the average driver” through to the components used in the vehicle and backend such as cameras and steering systems. The publication also presents a summary of all the relevant Level 3 and Level 4 SAE safety methods for automated driving.
SaFAD is based on twelve guiding principles, which set out the capabilities of autonomous vehicles. The components in the vehicle and backend are designed to enable these capabilities and are connected through a generic architecture. Background to SaFAD: Interest in and development of automated driving technology has grown dramatically over the past few years, fueled by the goal of reducing the number of serious road accidents, optimizing traffic flow and introducing new mobility concepts. This rapid growth brings with it a wide range of development methodologies from established and fledgling companies alike.
Over the next few months, authors and experts from each of the participating partners intend to present the group’s work at industry and technology conferences worldwide.