SAE Int’l, major automakers create automated vehicle consortium

According to a press release, “the AVSC will fill a critical need by providing a safety framework around which autonomous technology can responsibly evolve in advance of broad deployment. The work will ultimately inform and accelerate the development of industry standards for autonomous vehicles (AVs) and harmonize with efforts of other consortia and standards’ bodies throughout the world. In an article last year in Gigabit Magazine, ABI Research showed that by 2025, eight million autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles with SAE level 3, 4 or 5 capabilities will be sold. With Level 4 automation, vehicles can intervene themselves if things go wrong or a system failure occurs. These cars are in essence left completely to their own devices without any human intervention in most situations, but options to manually override are possible. Level 5 automation does not require human assistance of any kind and include off-road driving and other terrains that Level 4 vehicles may not be able to sense, or intelligently comprehend. Level 5 vehicles do not have driving controls such as steering wheels, gas and brake pedals, and the driver may be eliminated completely. “Being able to advance the safe deployment of SAE Level 4 and Level 5 automated vehicles represents another exciting chapter in the realization of autonomous mobility and the benefits this will bring to people around the world,” says Edward Straub, DM, executive director of the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium. “To achieve these benefits, industry collaboration, cohesion and flexibility to merge new ideas with proven safety processes are critical. This is why we are forming the AVSC and announcing our roadmap strategy.” The consortium will leverage the expertise of both current and future members to establish a set of AV safety guiding principles that help inform standards development. At the top of the priority list for the newly formed body is a priority roadmap for use by developers, manufacturers and integrators of automated vehicle technology. The roadmap will focus on data sharing, vehicle interaction with other road users and safety testing. The AVSC will share its progress throughout the year, including at the upcoming SAE International World Congress Experience (WCX), April 9-11, 2019 in Detroit. SAE International is a global association committed to for the benefit of humanity. The association engages with approximately 200,000 engineers, technical experts and volunteers to connect and educate mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions.