A particular highlight of the first day of the Autonomous Vehicle Test & Development Symposium was the presentation by Neil Garbacik, who’s responsible for ADAS safety and security at Fiat-Chrysler. FCA is one of 11 companies taking part in the Safety First for Automated Driving (SaFAD) initiative, which sets out a framework for the development of safe automated driving systems.
The collective work defines 12 guiding principles of safe automated driving development for SAE Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving systems, derived from a comprehensive collection of publications and recommendations from public authorities and consumer associations. It applies the principles to the development lifecycle of automated driving technology, covering requirements development through verification and validation and continuing beyond product deployment.
One of the key messages of Garbacik’s presentation was that if, during the development process, the industry can define all the possible scenarios in which automated features can be of use, then we can create a ‘safety by design’ system, where the amount of testing that the public is involved in is reduced to a minimum.
He noted, “The biggest problem that we will have to solve in the future are the problems related to the safety of the intended functionality. Called the ‘operational design domain’, it factors into automated driving safety as well as how human factors change the way we design our vehicles.”
Further highlights on the first day included the session on simulation, which featured presentations from Siemens, Ansys and Nvidia, and the afternoon session on mapping and positioning – an essential field of research to make sure AVs can navigate all potential obstacles.