Cognitive Vehicles, Interviews, Level 5 Autonomous Driving

Interview with AVL: Improving SOTIF Coverage Through Data Analytics

Before giving his talk on Improving SOTIF Coverage Through Data Analytics at the online Scale Up 360° Tech.AD USA conference, Vivek Jaikamal, Senior Business Development Manager at AVL List GmbH, gives us a quick overview of this pressing topic.

we.CONECT: What technical challenge fascinates you most about autonomous driving?

The biggest technical challenge is really the handling of unknown unknowns, especially those that pose a safety risk, that humans are inherently capable of responding to.

we.CONECT: What do you consider the most important breakthrough in fully autonomous vehicle development in the next five years?

It would be the ability to anticipate situations even up to 800m ahead on the road in order to allow the AV sufficient time to react if necessary.  Today’s sensors, no matter how many you put on a vehicle, aren’t able to match the capability of the human eyes and ears in sensing, classifying and tracking objects that far ahead and plan accordingly.

we.CONECT: Which solutions and products are you currently working on at AVL to support a safe autonomous future?

We are actively working on technologies that will allow OEMs to identify and complete a larger portion of the safety-relevant tests in simulation and on the testbed in order to accelerate the safe deployment of AVs.  We are also working with standardization organizations around the world in order to enable the uniform evaluation of active safety features and the homologation of autonomous vehicles.

we.CONECT: What possibilities brings the development of 5G connectivity for the autonomous driving industry?

5G connectivity would open up a host of new possibilities – not just reliable V2X communication that will increase safety both in urban and poor visibility conditions, but also better utilization of urban infrastructure such as street lights and parking meters.  And if you are going to let your AV drive you around, you will want the full power of the internet to make that ride productive!  However, significant challenges remain to be overcome before the benefits of 5G can be fully realized.

we.CONECT: When do you think we will see level 5 autonomous vehicles / cars deployed massively on the road in the US and possibly overtake the deployment of conventional vehicles?

Although AV development has come a long way in the last decade, we have also found significant gaps in technology, both hardware and software, that are needed to be closed in order to make L5 AVs safe and practical.  Then there are the regulatory and social aspects of AVs that still remain to be sorted out.  I believe we are far away from massive deployment of L5 vehicles – at least 15 years if not more.

we.CONECT: Please explain in brief the key aspects of your session at the ScaleUp 360° Tech.AD USA 2020

In my session, I will address the need to expand the pool of SOTIF relevant scenarios in order to reduce the risk and hazard levels resulting from unknown and unsafe operating conditions. I will talk about AVL’s approach to derive these scenarios from measurement data from real-world fleets.

we.CONECT: What was your first car and how would your dream car of the future look like?

The first car I drove was a 1960 Fiat 1100D – a lovely combination of simplicity, reliability and “suicide” front doors that served us well for many years. My dream car of the future would be a car that is fully recyclable, one that would blend with the environment and be intelligent enough to adapt to my needs and taste.

we.CONECT: Thank you Vivek Jaikamal for answering our questions!

Join Vivek Jaikamal’s webinar session at ScaleUp 360° Tech.AD USA:

Session title: Improving SOTIF Coverage Through Data Analytics
Date: Wednesday June 24, 2020, 10:15 PDT
Follow this link to sign up now for free: Online registration
Signing up automatically gives you access to all webinar sessions at ScaleUp Tech.AD USA, June 24 - 25, 2020

ScaleUp 360° Tech.AD USA – the digital summit for decision makers leading the development and technical future of level 4+ autonomous vehicles. Experience 2 days of virtual sessions and case studies by executives and thought leaders from automotive OEMs, T1s, research institutes, automotive suppliers & solution providers on challenges, use cases, concepts, solutions and innovations under the motto L4+ Automated Driving & Autonomous Vehicles and engage with your peers in real-time – right from your desk.