Eleven auto majors draft first-ever framework for safe automated driving systems

As the megatrend of autonomous vehicles gathers pace, there is also the associated concern about safety. Now, automotive and mobility industry leaders have publish the first-of-its-kind framework for safe automated driving systems. The 'Safety First for Automated Driving' (SaFAD) white paper emphasises the importance of safety by design for automated vehicles.

Emphasising safety by design, 11 industry leaders across the automotive and automated driving technology spectrum today published SaFAD, a non-binding organised framework for the development, testing and validation of safe automated passenger vehicles.

These 11 leaders — Aptiv, Audi, Baidu, BMW, Continental, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, HERE, Infineon, Intel and Volkswagen — comprise the broadest representation across the industry and have published, to date, the largest report on how to build, test and operate a safe automated vehicle.

“In order to reach safe and consistent global development and deployment of automated vehicles, it is critical that we work across our space, with other industry leaders and regulators, to develop an universal safety criteria for automated vehicles,” said Dr. Michael Hafner, Head of Drive Technologies and Automated Driving at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development (Daimler AG).

The SaFAD white paper authors’ purpose is to emphasise the importance of safety by design, along with verification and validation, as the industry works toward creating standards for automated driving.

12 guiding principles
For the first time, SaFAD offers automated vehicle (AV) developers and operators a system for clear traceability that proves AVs to be “safer than the average driver” through components such as cameras or steering systems.

It is also the first time presenting a summary of widely known safety-by-design and verification and validation methods of Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving as defined by the SAE (J3016).

The foundation of the SaFAD white paper is its 12 Guiding Principles, which are further refined into capabilities of the automated vehicle, from which safe-by-design elements are derived to support the capability and achieve the guiding principles. SaFAD combines the expertise from key companies in the automaker, supplier and technology industries to help direct development of safe automated vehicles.

Safe Operation: How the system reacts if critical components become unstable or cease functioning

Safety Layer: The system recognizing its limits and minimizes risk in returning control to the driver

Operational Design Domain (ODD): The operating conditions in which the system is designed to function

Behavior in Traffic: The system behavior needs to be easy to understand and predictable for surrounding road users

User Responsibility: The user’s state must be suitable for a takeover procedure

Vehicle-Initiated Handover: If the driver does not comply with a takeover request, the automated driving system must perform a maneuver to minimize risk.

Driver-Initiated Handover: Activating and deactivating the automated driving system shall require an explicit driver’s intent

Effects of Automation: Overall evaluation of system safety shall take automation effects on the driver into account

Safety Assessment: Verification and validation shall be used to ensure that the safety goals are met

Data Recording: When an event or incident is recognized, automated vehicles shall record relevant data in a manner that complies with applicable privacy laws

Security: Steps shall be taken to protect the automated driving system from security threats

Passive Safety: Vehicle layout shall accommodate changes to crash scenarios brought about by vehicle automation

Interest in and development of automated driving technology has grown at a dramatic rate over the past several years, fuelled by the goal of reducing fatalities related to vehicle crashes, improvement of traffic flow and the introduction of new mobility concepts. This rapid growth brings a wide range of development methodologies from established companies and the growing roster of new enterprises.

With publication of SaFAD, authors and experts from each of the participating partners will present the group’s work at industry and technology conferences internationally over the next several months.

To download the whitepaper: ​https://www.daimler.com/innovation/case/autonomous/safety-first-for-automated-driving-2.html