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European Research Project’s Contributions to a Safer Automated Road Traffic

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Abstract

Automated driving is poised to become a pivotal technology in the future automotive transportation. However, it is evident that the implementation of automated driving presents significant technical challenges. To accelerate the development and deployment of automated driving the European Commission initiated the research project L3Pilot in 2017. With a budget of 65 million Euros and the involvement of 13 car manufacturers, L3Pilot stands as the largest European project on automated driving (AD). This paper serves as a comprehensive account of BMW’s main activities in the L3Pilot project that ended in 2021. The research questions addressed in this project are related to the following topics: what are the guidelines for the development of AD? How do potential customers interact with AD? And what is the safety impact assessment of AD? The paper presents the findings related to all three research questions to contribute to the further development of automated driving. For this purpose together with other partners the Code of Practice of AD was defined as a guideline for the development of future AD systems. Related to the second question, BMW conducted tests with AD systems on motorways and in parking scenarios, with over 100 test subjects experiencing AD. The studies provide input and considerations for future AD systems. Finally, in the safety impact assessment, BMW investigated with other project partners the potential safety benefits of AD through simulation. The results show a potential to improve road safety. In conclusion, the exploration of all three research questions has led to a deeper understanding of SAE Level 3 AD.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Automated driving

ADAS:

Advance driver assistance system

ADS:

Automated driving system

AEB:

Autonomous emergency braking

ALKS:

Automated lane kee** system

CAV:

Connected and automated vehicles

CO:

Concept phase

CoP:

Code of Practice

DF:

Definition phase

DS:

Design phase

MRM:

Minimal risk maneuver

NDRT:

Non-driving related task

PS:

Post start of production phase

SCM:

Stochastic Cognitive Model

VV:

Validation and verification phase

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Funding

This paper results from the L3Pilot project. This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 723051. The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author(s). The author(s) would like to thank all partners within L3Pilot for their cooperation and valuable contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BMW AG, Konzepte Integrale Sicherheit (EG-34), Knorrstraße 147, 80788, Munich, Germany

    Felix Fahrenkrog, Susanne Reithinger, Burak Gülsen & Florian Raisch

Authors
  1. Felix Fahrenkrog
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  2. Susanne Reithinger
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  3. Burak Gülsen
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  4. Florian Raisch
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Correspondence to Felix Fahrenkrog.

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On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Academic Editor: Hong Wang

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Fahrenkrog, F., Reithinger, S., Gülsen, B. et al. European Research Project’s Contributions to a Safer Automated Road Traffic. Automot. Innov. 6, 521–530 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42154-023-00250-3

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