TÜV SÜD says gaining passenger trust is key to autonomous vehicle development
Certification expert TÜV SÜD has been working at an international level for more than five years on a number of development projects to turn the concept of autonomous driving into reality and deliver safety, security and privacy of data.
The company, which works with top automotive OEMs and suppliers globally, believes that, as autonomous driving technology progresses, gaining passengers’ trust, confidence and acceptance are vital if autonomous driving technologies are to be widely used on public roads. It sees standardised self-driving car safety tests and regulatory frameworks as a key part of gaining that acceptance.
To deliver the necessary standards and assess both vehicles and drivers to the required type approval levels, TÜV SÜD has established a specialist division – Business Line Highly Automated Driving – based on three Continents with a dedicated global team working on a series of projects in the US, Europe and Asia.
It is headed up by Christian Gnandt, Vice President Automated Driving, TÜV SÜD Mobility, and we caught up with him to discuss how he sees the development of autonomous driving on a global level.
How long has TÜV SÜD been involved in automated driving projects?
Probably longer than you think. The autonomous driving division was first established in 2017 and now has a dedicated global team of 45 employees, based in Europe, the US and Asia. We are currently working on projects here in Germany, in the US, China, Korea and Singapore. We believe that autonomous driving standards should be the same on a global level, with perhaps some regional adjustments to take into account local regulatory frameworks, to develop and establish appropriate testing methodologies to ensure the safety and cyber security of autonomous vehicles.
What is TÜV SÜD’s role in autonomous driving projects and why do you believe autonomous driving projects are important?
At TÜV SÜD, we do not manufacturer or develop autonomous driving vehicles or the algorithms that make them work. Instead, we work with OEMs such as BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and other second tier suppliers such as Bosch, Continental and others, to assess and develop the regulations and standards for type approving autonomous drive vehicles.
As autonomous vehicles further develop, there is an expectation among consumers and regulatory authorities that these technologies should be thoroughly tested to ensure their overall safety, as well as a proper assessment of their cyber security and data privacy due to the increased variety of software and communication interfaces used.
We take a holistic approach in our testing methodology to ensure the safety and security of these vehicles, and carry out assessments on proving grounds, on the highways and increasingly in a virtual environment to ensure that the vehicles meet the necessary safety and security standards.
What role do you think autonomous driving can play in society going forward?
Many communities are striving to achieve Vision Zero in which all traffic fatalities and severe injuries are eliminated, while safe, healthy, and equitable mobility is increased for all. We believe autonomous driving can play a role in helping achieve Vision Zero as the ultimate goal.
Autonomous driving also has a role to play from a sustainability viewpoint by helping reduce carbon emissions, especially in urban areas. Many cities experience traffic jams as citizens use their own cars to commute to work, but we believe autonomous drive vehicles could actually help reduce congestion and allow people to do better things with their time than sit in traffic.
However, climatic conditions may have an impact here as autonomous drive vehicles are not as effective in certain conditions, such as rain or heavy snow. But in areas where these are rare – California, perhaps – they may be the perfect solution.
How important is it that automated driving vehicles are thoroughly tested, and what role does TÜV SÜD play here?
Thorough safety and security tests are vital to give passengers confidence in automated driving vehicles. At TÜV SÜD, we have been at the cutting edge of vehicle testing for over 100 years and we participate in standardization committees to facilitate the roll out of automated driving technologies by defining the legal framework and regulations for type approval.
We work with an international network of commercial companies, universities, regulatory bodies and research institutes to support the safe development and smooth global roll-out of automated technologies. And we work in various global projects to develop and establish appropriate testing methodologies to ensure the safety and cyber security of autonomous vehicles.
Can you describe some of the autonomous drive projects that you are involved with on both a national and international level?
The following are some, but by no means all, of the projects that we are currently involved in. For example, we have been the only technical service organisation participating in the German Government’s Pegasus project, which brought together an industry consortium of 16 industrial and research partners focused on assessment and validation of highly automated driving systems on highways.
Pegasus completed in 2019 and has since been superseded by the Verification and Validation Methods (VVM) project, which aims to develop test procedures and provide systematic methods to engineer safety cases for automated vehicles.
VVM is working on the use case of urban intersections and focuses on driving functions up to the complete automation of vehicles, building on the results of the Pegasus project.
One of the latest developments has been the adoption of an internationally recognised regulation for Automated Lane Keeping (ALKS), with 42 countries agreeing uniform type approval requirements for automated driving functions.
This means that manufacturers now have a reliable UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) regulation to guide them in the development of automated driving functions for all internationally important markets. The UNECE regulations define a strict set of criteria for passenger cars governing how automated lane keeping systems should work.
At TÜV SÜD, we perform highly qualified safety inspections that ensure fulfilment with the individual ALKS requirements and are able to create a range of specially tailored state-of-the-art products and services to ensure compliance with the regulation.
We have also founded the International Alliance for Mobility Testing and Standardization (IAMTS) with SAE International, China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC), Shanghai Intelligent Automotive Center (SIAC), and International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC).
IAMTS is a global, membership-based alliance involved in the testing, standardisation and certification of advanced mobility systems and services. Its mission is to develop and grow an international portfolio of smart mobility testbeds that meet the highest quality implementation and operational standards.
Meanwhile, we are also working with Singapore’s Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous Vehicles (CETRAN) to address the new challenges of regulation development and functional safety of autonomous vehicles within urban environments.
What is your role within the Automated Driving division and what advances have you seen in you time with TÜV SÜD?
I joined TÜV SÜD in 2018, after some 15 years in the auto industry working within the electronic controls market, and am now responsible for our global autonomous driving business.
During that time, I have seen many major advances in the field of autonomous driving. I recall in its early days, autonomous drive vehicles operated at little more than walking pace, whereas today they can work at up to full speed. Methods, standards and practices have all come on in leaps and bounds with a plethora of new regulations and new knowhow. The next five years promise to be equally as exciting.