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Fully automated driving will help us to achieve impor-
tant transport objectives, including improved levels of
road safety, better traffic flows, reductions in fuel
consumption and greater comfort. Very few people
enjoy their daily commute to work on our busy roads.
Studies have predicted that up to 70 % of traffic will
disappear when everyone can travel into big cities
using autonomous means of transport. This will make
urban areas much more pleasant places to live. Large
cities where smog and noise are significant problems
are already showing an interest in introducing the first
people movers and robo-taxis onto their streets. The
wishes of residents, who are also voters, the provisions
of legislation and the introduction of new guidelines,
including the Paris climate agreement, are forcing
them to take action.

However, drivers and passengers will only appreciate
the increase in comfort and safety, if the automated
driving functions create a safe, reliable and relaxing
impression. This means that the systems must be
designed with safety in mind from the very beginning.
As a result, powerful simulation tools will be needed,
together with data mining and artificial intelligence.
The functions then need to be tested thoroughly in
virtual environments and on test rigs, before undergo-
ing intensive trials on public roads. Only if the systems
are technically mature will it be possible to convince
end consumers of their benefits.

But what exactly do drivers want? Until now the engi-
neers in development departments have claimed to
know precisely what their customers needed. But it
has recently become clear that not only manufacturers
but also industry suppliers and development service
providers need to acquire an in-depth understanding
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of customers’ requirements. In car clinics, user expe-
rience studies and other tests, they are investigating
the variants of every HMI and assistance function that
are required in different parts of the world, including
China, the USA and Germany. The subjective data that
they collect is used for the objective evaluation and
validation of driver assistance functions, such as adap-
tive cruise control and lane departure warning sys-
tems, in order to allow the engineers to improve their
physical properties.

Michael Reichenbach

ATZ worldwide 09|2017 15