With the adoption of UN Regulation No. 185 and UN Global Technical Regulation No. 26 for automated driving systems (ADS), the UNECE World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) expanded the international reference framework for automated driving in June 2026 and established harmonized requirements for fully automated driving functions for the first time. It also covers applications in which a vehicle is operated within its operational design domain without continuous human control.
The UN regulation establishes an approval framework under the 1958 Convention; the UN GTR creates a globally harmonized technical basis under the 1998 Convention. This does not result in a globally identical set of registration laws, but rather in a significantly more common technical standard for safety, validation and verification.
“Autonomy is not resilient simply because an algorithm makes the right decision,” said Kevin Arnold, CEO of Arnold NextG. “It is resilient when the vehicle executes that decision in a controlled manner even under relevant fault conditions. The new ADS regulations do not prescribe a specific architecture. However, they make it clear that safety must be demonstrated across the entire chain of effects and the entire lifecycle. That is exactly where our Safety-by-Wire technology comes into play.”
The new ADS regulations clarify that the performance of an ADS alone is not enough. Only the safe electronic control of steering, braking and propulsion creates the conditions necessary for autonomous driving decisions to be reliably translated into vehicle movements. According to NextG, Drive-by-Wire thus becomes a central technological foundation for fully automated vehicles.
The safety chain does not end with the AD stack
Digital driving decisions must be translated into steering, braking and propulsion commands, validated, prioritized, monitored and, in the event of a fault, safely degraded.
Arnold NextG describes this safety-critical level as the Control Layer. The term is not a regulatory requirement but rather an architectural classification.
The Control Layer connects the decision-making logic with the actuators and creates a defined, verifiable interface between software and physical systems. It must function independently of whether a driving command originates from an ADS, a teleoperation control center or driver interaction.
Safety-by-Wire as the Control Layer
With NX NextMotion, Arnold NextG is developing a modular, vehicle-platform-independent and multi-redundant control platform for drive-by-wire. The quadruply redundant hardware and software architecture is designed to control primary functions such as steering, braking and propulsion, as well as selected safety-critical secondary functions, on a common system basis and to maintain operation in the event of defined single faults.
According to the company and the TÜV certifications provided, the safety concept is aligned with functional safety standards ISO 26262 up to ASIL D and IEC 61508 SIL 3. Arnold NextG also provides TÜV certifications for steering and braking systems in accordance with UN ECE R79 and R13, as well as road approval for NX NextMotion autonomous, teleoperated and software-defined vehicle projects.
Regulatory requirements become part of the operating model
At the 21st session of the UNECE Working Group on Automated Driving Systems (ADS), work continued on the Guidance and Interpretation Documents (GID) for UN R185 and UN GTR No. 26. The session emphasized that the new ADS regulations are accompanied by technical guidelines and interpretive aids and that their practical application is being gradually refined.
From Arnold NextG’s perspective, this development underscores that requirements for the safe implementation, monitoring and verification of automated driving functions must be considered across the entire vehicle lifecycle. It reinforces the company’s view that regulatory requirements should be considered from the outset of vehicle development rather than addressed after technical work is complete. This includes integrating requirements for verification, diagnostics, data management, software updates and operational monitoring into the system architecture and the product lifecycle.
In related news, UNECE adopts first global regulatory framework for fully driverless AD systems