The World Economic Forum and The Autonomous have published an industry guide for coordinating safe autonomous driving, titled The Autonomous Vehicle Governance Ecosystem: A Guide for Decision-Makers. The white paper draws on relevant alliances, collaboration platforms and standardization bodies. Alongside this, it highlights key stakeholders’ activities and shows how collaboration between companies will aid in overcoming hurdles faced when developing safe autonomous vehicles.
As autonomous vehicle technology advances, so does the competition between companies and manufacturers. The Autonomous and the World Economic Forum explain that individuals are working in parallel on technological solutions, and as these increase in complexity, so does the need to coordinate the overall safety of automated vehicles. At present, supervisory authorities internationally recognize the need for general technical principles for autonomous vehicles. Within the sector, a large network of initiatives and coalitions is now responding to the need for coordination.
Michelle Avary, head of automotive and autonomous mobility, World Economic Forum, commented, “With an ever-increasing number of alliances and consortia forming, it becomes difficult for industry decision-makers to map the ecosystem, decide where to participate, or how to utilize the know-how produced from these consortia. The purpose of this white paper is to provide guidance to decision-makers from industry and the public sector.”
The pair state that companies are often focused on different aspects, which can lead to a lack of a common objective for the industry. The recently published guide explains the interrelations and draws the bigger picture for what is known as one of the most competitive industries.
“Although the automotive industry is highly competitive, collaboration is the only way to succeed in the major challenge posed by autonomous cars: safety assurance,” says Ricky Hudi, chairman of The Autonomous. “Industry alliances like The Autonomous are providing a platform for the autonomous vehicle ecosystem to work together on key safety aspects.”
The Autonomous is an open platform that aims at building an ecosystem of all actors involved in the development of safe autonomous mobility to work together and generate know-how.
“The automotive industry has long relied on collaboration to remove competitive barriers, and nowhere is that more important than in safety. These alliances, consortia and standards activities are essential to delivering safe autonomous vehicles,” said Tim Dawkins, lead, automotive and autonomous mobility, World Economic Forum.
To address safety challenges posed by autonomous driving, The Autonomous has set out to tackle gaps within the industry, where alignment between companies on safety, it states, is urgently needed, such as in artificial intelligence, electronic architectures and cybersecurity. The aim of the initiative is to generate concrete reference solutions for particular safety challenges of Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving, while still complying to existing safety standards.
The Autonomous consists of car manufacturers, regulatory authorities, technology suppliers, academia, government institutions, and others. Supporters include Audi, BMW and Infineon.
