This SAE EDGE™ Research Report identifies key unsettled issues of interest to the automotive industry regarding the challenges of determining the optimal balance for testing automated driving systems (ADS). Three main issues are outlined that merit immediate interest: First, determining what kind of testing an ADS needs before it is ready to go on the road. Second, the current, optimal, and realistic balance of simulation testing and real-world testing. Third, the challenges of sharing data in the industry. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are preliminary investigations of new technologies. The three technical issues identified in this report should be discussed in greater depth with the aims of, first, clarifying the scope of the industry-wide alignment needed; second, prioritizing the issues requiring resolution; and, third, creating a plan to generate the necessary frameworks, practices, and protocols. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2019011

On-road vehicles equipped with driving automation features—where a human might not be needed for operation on-board—are entering the mainstream public space. However, questions like “How safe is safe enough?” and “What to do if the system fails?” persist. This is where remote operation comes in, which is an additional layer to the automated driving system where a human remotely assists the so-called “driverless” vehicle in certain situations. Such remote-operation solutions introduce additional challenges and potential risks as the entire vehicle-network-human now needs to work together safely, effectively, and practically. Unsettled Issues in Remote Operation for On-road Driving Automation highlights technical questions (e.g., network latency, bandwidth, cyber security) and human aspects (e.g., workload, attentiveness, situational awareness) of remote operation and introduces evolving solutions. The report also discusses standards development and regulations—both of which are needed to provide frameworks for the deployment of driving automation with remote operation. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2021028

As automated road vehicles begin their deployment into public traffic, they will need to interact with human driven vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, etc. This requires some form of communication between those automated vehicles (AVs) and other road users. Some of these communication modes (e.g., auditory, motion) were previously addressed in “Unsettled Issues Regarding Communication of Automated Vehicles with Other Road Users.” Unsettled Issues Regarding Visual Communication Between Automated Vehicles and Other Road Users focuses on visual communication and its balance of reach, clarity, and intuitiveness, and discusses how different visual modes (e.g., simple lights, rich text) can be used between AVs and other road users. A particular emphasis is put on standardization to highlight how uniformity and mass adoption increase communication efficacy. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2021016

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) face similar challenges regarding the regulation of autonomous systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that replace the human factor in the decision-making process. Validation and verification (V&V) processes contribute to implementation of correct system requirements and the development life cycle - starting with the definition of regulatory, marketing, operational, performance, and safety requirements. The V&V process is one of the steps of a development life cycle starting with the definition of regulatory, marketing, operational, performance, and safety requirements. They define what a product is, and they flow down into lower level requirements defining control architectures, hardware, and software. The industry is attempting to define regulatory requirements and a framework to gain safety clearance of such products. This report suggests a regulatory text and a safety and V&V approach from an aerospace engineering perspective assessing the replacement of the human driver from the decision-making role by a computational system. It also suggests an approach where aerospace guidelines can be used alongside the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO 26262 in order to define a viable and valuable framework for autonomous systems safety clearance (or certification). NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2019012

The impending deployment of automated vehicles (AVs) represents a major shift in the traditional approach to ground transportation; its effects will inevitably be felt by parties directly involved with the vehicle manufacturing and use (e.g., automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), public transportation systems, heavy goods transportation providers) and those that play roles in the mobility ecosystem (e.g., aftermarket and maintenance industries, infrastructure and planning organizations, automotive insurance providers, marketers, telecommunication companies). The focus of this SAE EDGE Research Report is to address a topic overlooked by many who choose to view automated driving systems and AVs from a "10,000-foot perspective: " the topic of how AVs will communicate with other road users such as conventional (human-driven) vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians while in operation. This unsettled issue requires assessing the spectrum of existing modes of communication - both implicit and explicit, both biological and technological - employed by road users today. NOTE: SAE EDGE(TM) Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE(TM) Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE(TM) Research Reports are not intended to resolve the challenges they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny.