Industry guide for coordinating safe autonomous driving released

The rise of autonomous vehicle technology has resulted in a rich ecosystem shaped by competition. In this ecosystem, individual corporate groups are working in parallel on technological solutions. With the increasing complexity of technological systems, the need to coordinate the overall safety of automated vehicles increases. Also, supervisory authorities worldwide recognize the need for general technical principles for autonomous vehicles. Within the ecosystem, an extensive network of initiatives and coalitions is now responding to the need for coordination.

Overview: the landscape of industry alliances per domain

The World Economic Forum and The Autonomous released guidance for industry deciders and policymakers to help them align in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem. The whitepaper titled “The Autonomous Vehicle Governance Ecosystem: A Guide for Decision-Makers” draws a landscape of relevant alliances, standardization bodies and collaboration platforms. The whitepaper highlights key stakeholders’ activities and shows how collaboration is key to overcoming the hurdles of developing safe autonomous driving.

A Guide for Decision-Makers in the autonomous vehicle space

“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,” says Michelle Avary, Head of Automotive and Autonomous Mobility, World Economic Forum. “The purpose of this whitepaper is to provide guidance to decision-makers from industry and the public sector.”

“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.” What exactly makes it so hard for companies to decide where to participate in the ecosystem? While there is a vast knowledge-base developed in coalitions and standardization bodies, these consortia often work independently of one another, with sometimes little alignment on common goals across groups. The fact that they often focus on different aspects may lead to a lack of a common objective for the overall industry. The newly published guide explains the interrelations and draws the bigger picture for what is known as one of the most competitive industries.

The Autonomous brings together the autonomous ecosystem

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 assets.

Graphic: "The Autonomous" brings the automotive ecosystem together

To tackle key safety challenges in the autonomous mobility domain, The Autonomous is addressing gaps within the industry, where an alignment on safety is urgently needed, such as in electronic architectures, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. The outcome of the initiative will be concrete reference solutions for particular safety challenges of level 3 and level 4 autonomous driving, compliant with existing safety standards. Read more:

• The Autonomous: www.the-autonomous.com
• White paper: “The Autonomous Vehicle Governance Ecosystem: A Guide for Decision-Makers”