Major tech and automotive industry players partner to jointly master autonomous mobility

According to PWC[1], car manufacturers’ R&D costs have increased significantly due to the rise of electric, connected and autonomous vehicle development. In the USA and Asia, R&D spending rose by one-third (to €13 bn and €28 bn respectively), while in Europe it increased by 75 percent to €42 bn during the last decade. But increasing costs are not the only challenge for companies within the automated driving sector. Product liability, emerging technological best practices and increasing technical complexity demand know-how in various fields to solve remaining safety problems. To overcome these challenges, The Autonomous proposes a collaborative approach, bringing relevant industry players together to jointly develop recommendations, specifications and best practices.

Clear commitment to safe autonomous technology

Under the umbrella of “The Autonomous”, the members of this first Working Group are committed to working towards a safe system architecture for self-driving vehicles. The partners and leaders in their domain include Arm, Audi together with CARIAD – the automotive software company of VW group, BASELABS, CoreAVI, DENSO, Five, the German Fraunhofer IESE, NXP, the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology and TTTech Auto. The goal of this collaboration is to lay the basis for safety standardization and pave the way for mass autonomous vehicle production.

Georg Kopetz, CEO of TTTech Auto, initiating company of The Autonomous

“This kick-off towards joint development of a pre-competitive safe autonomous mobility reference architecture can be a game-changer and we are proud to take part in this important global activity”, says Georg Kopetz, CEO of TTTech Auto, initiating company of The Autonomous. “One of the drivers for the mass adoption of autonomous driving technology is the collaboration among industry leaders to agree on a common safety reference architecture. Together, we are working to solve the fundamental question of how an ultra-dependable, yet also affordable autonomous safety architecture can soon be realized at scale for passenger cars”

A safe vehicle architecture for the industry

The upcoming safe system architecture for self-driving vehicles will include subsystems that connect to sensors and actuators as well as fault-containment units to ensure the safe automated operation of the overall vehicle. The resulting vehicle architecture will represent a reference solution for all participating members as a first step and subsequently may become of use for other companies and regions.

Industry benefits and an invitation to participate

The Working Group’s consolidated output will be published in the form of a technical report. The report will support knowledge transfer and give concrete guidance to the automotive industry for the series production of safe autonomous vehicles. Liaison and alignment with standard bodies will ensure that the Working Group outcome complements safety-related industry standards. Contributors can initiate further Working Groups on The Autonomous platform in order to tackle key safety challenges of safe automated driving. The Autonomous community consists of participants from industry, government and academia as well as disruptors. A public announcement will follow at The Autonomous Main Event (www.the-autonomous.com) on September 29, the flagship event of the initiative. [1] https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/de/en/insights/2021/automotive-development.html#:~:text=To%20stay%20ahead%20in%20a,2019%2C%20to%20%E2%82%AC42%20billion