Leading players of the automotive industry gathered in Vienna, Austria to discuss a global safety reference for automated driving

Vienna, Austria - September 6, 2019 - More than 50 years after the Convention on Road Traffic was concluded, Vienna, Austria was again the epicenter of discussing and enhancing the future of mobility. “The Autonomous”, a global community shaping the future of safe autonomous mobility, gathered the leading players from the autonomous ecosystem with the goal to write the next chapter of automated driving by discussing a global safety reference.

Autonomous mobility is on the brink of history to pave the way towards a better, more livable future. But due to first accidents raising doubt in public opinion, safety proves to be the main concern and challenge to achieving mass adoption.

“Within the automotive industry it is common sense that overcoming the safety challenges for true automated driving cannot be mastered by a single OEM, Tier 1, or tech company”, says Ricky Hudi, Co-Founder of TTTech Auto and Chairman of “The Autonomous”. “With its mission to establish a global safety reference which facilitates the adoption of autonomous mobility, “The Autonomous” will be an open platform and we are sending an invitation to all relevant stakeholders to discuss the current state of safety in autonomous mobility and provide a stage for collaboration.”

With the inaugural event on September 5, at the Imperial Palace in Vienna, Austria “The Autonomous” already gathered 400 key stakeholders from global players like Aptiv, Audi, BMW, Continental, Daimler, Five.AI, Goggo Network, HERE, Infineon, Intel, NVIDIA, NXP, Renesas, SAIC, Samsung, TTTech Auto and Volkswagen. The event was also supported by the World Economic Forum.

In addition to keynotes and panel discussions from top-class executives, “The Autonomous” event held four expert workshops about Safety & Architecture, Safety & Security, Safety & AI and Safety & Regulation. The results of the workshops will be collected in a white paper and presented to the public.  Until the already announced next “The Autonomous” event in September 2020, the industry players committed themselves to continue their collaboration using “The Autonomous” as a platform for open discussions and networking. 

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Media materials:

• Event recap video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySF_mYVJkio&t=2s

 

Supporting statements:

Aptiv

“As a technology company that has been providing active safety solutions for more than 20 years and operator of the largest commercial self-driving mobility service in the world, we – Aptiv - know that fully autonomous vehicles will ultimately be the safest cars on the road. For us to get there, the industry must not look at developing and deploying autonomous vehicles as a ‘race to the finish line’ but rather a journey, and focus on building safe and reliable driverless systems that consumers can trust.” Karl Iagnemma, President of Aptiv Autonomous Mobility

Audi

“For automated driving to have high levels of customer acceptance, safety cannot be a differentiator - it has to be a basic requirement. In order to meet the justifiable expectations of customers and the public it is essential that there are standardized criteria for evaluating safety, both during development and during daily use. As a platform with a wide community of global stakeholders, “The Autonomous” offers a good framework for focused discussions and cooperation.” Thomas Müller, Head of Chassis Development and Automated Driving

BMW

"For BMW Group, it is crucial that we offer safe, and both highly and fully automated driving. It is foreseeable that we will reach high quality Level 3 solutions for our customers by 2021 and Level 4 pilot projects in individual regions. Anything else is just marketing messages, or there are high safety risks involved – we cannot accept that. At least 10 years of technological and regulatory progress are required to make Level 5 generally available. We can only do this in co-operation with different industries. Today it is already foreseeable that a technical standard will also have to be established, as has already been the case with other safety-relevant systems such as ABS or airbags. It is therefore very necessary to develop this together and across the board." Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management - Development

Daimler

“Safety is a core value of Daimler. We therefore welcome that the goal of “The Autonomous” is focusing on creating a global safety reference. As part of this activity, we would like to work together with other leading companies in the industry to make a contribution in assuring that autonomous driving is safe and comprehensible across the board.” Michael Hafner, Head of Automated Driving and Active Safety

Infineon Technologies

“For autonomous mobility to prevail, vehicles must operate absolutely reliably. The automotive industry needs to take the next step from functional safety to failure-tolerant towards the dependable car. Dependable subsystems and components are key enablers to this end. Together with our industry partners, we at Infineon are developing reliable and trustworthy automotive solutions for next generation vehicles. Collaboration in ecosystems across the entire automotive value chain is essential to achieve dependability. “The Autonomous” provides an excellent platform for exchange between leading industry players. It is a great opportunity to strengthen our cooperation further and to coordinate our efforts to cut the number of accidents considerably towards the ultimate common Vision Zero.” Reinhard Ploss, CEO

SAIC Motor

“SAIC as the biggest automotive group in China, has always taken “Safety” the highest priority in the development of autonomous driving vehicles. The autonomous driving with safety and efficiency is a world-wide subject. “The Autonomous” is a great opportunity to meet and talk with the world industry.” Zu Sijie, Vice President & CTO

Samsung

"We are entering an era of convergence that spans technologies, industries, and lifestyles that bridge the physical and digital domains. As we develop next-generation systems and capabilities in autonomous mobility, we need to build upon the lessons learned from the IT and mobile industries, and prioritize standardization of platforms and innovation. We are excited to take these leaps forward, and to cultivate a collaborative ecosystem that is adherent to universal safety and security standards, so companies can focus on differentiating themselves through unique business models and the services they offer to deliver the best consumer experience.” Young Sohn, President & Chief Strategy Officer Samsung Electronics & Chairman of the Board HARMAN International Industries

TTTech Auto

“The Autonomous and this first event here in Vienna underlines the importance of safety and cooperation within the automotive industry. Just like in aviation, autonomous driving needs to set common technical standards, legislation, and a process to learn from past incidents and avoid future ones. Based on more than 20 years of experience, and the focus on safe software and hardware platforms for automated driving, TTTech Auto initiated “The Autonomous” to further this discussion on safety requirements and provide a forum for the whole ecosystem.” Georg Kopetz, CEO  

Visit "The Autonomous" website: https://the-autonomous.com/