Enabling safe CAV deployment

The move to Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV) is being driven by the many potential benefits of the technology, such as increased safety, reduced traffic congestion, lowered emissions and potentially increased mobility for those unable to drive or for people with disabilities. However, to reap such benefits it is essential to ensure that CAV technology is safe and is used in a safe manner.

Demonstrating the UK’s intention of becoming a premier development location for CAVs, in 2015, the UK government set up a joint policy unit called CCAV, bringing together expertise from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Transport (DfT). With £250 million budget supported by matched industry funding, CCAV is working closely with industry, academia, standards bodies and regulators to enable development and ultimately deployment of safe and secure CAV for the efficient movement of goods and people.

A key aspect of ensuring the safe use of CAV is establishing and conveying the capabilities and limitations of the technology to its users, leading to a state of informed safety to enable development of public trust in the technology. A recent CCAV report on public attitudes towards CAVs found that while the public accepts the potential safety benefits of CAV by reducing human error, fatigue, distraction and drink-driving, they consider safety and security of the technology as of paramount importance.

Reflecting the public attitude, the UK government is also committed to ensuring that the introduction of CAVs for commercial operations or testing/trialling purposes is done both safely and securely, to build public and consumer trust and acceptance of the technology. Industry standards have been suggested as key enablers for the development of trust.

The CAV industry is relatively young with innovations emerging from traditional vehicle manufacturers and from exciting start-ups. This makes the standardization activities challenging. Against this backdrop, BSI is supporting CAV development through its CAV Standards programme, focussing on the safety and security of CAVs. Sponsored by CCAV, the BSI CAV Standards programme has brought together some of the brightest and most innovative experts from industry, academia and policy in the UK to create ground-breaking standards through a fast-paced standardization route known as a PAS (Publicly Available Specifications).

Four PASs – PAS 1880, PAS 1881, PAS 1882 and PAS 1883 will be published during 2020. PAS 1880 provides guidelines for the design of CAV control systems; PAS 1881 provides requirements for constructing a safety case for a CAV trial and the evidence required for it; PAS 1882 provides requirements for the data recording on a CAV, and lastly PAS 1883 provides requirements for defining the Operational Design Domain (ODD), i.e., conditions under which the CAV can operate safely.

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BSI CAV Standards programme

BSI launched its CAV Standards programme in 2019. This followed research by BSI and the Transport Systems Catapult, now Connected Places Catapult, that highlighted the important role for standards in supporting the development of the CAV industry and UK leadership in the field.

Sponsored by UK Government’s Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), the BSI CAV Standards programme aims to enable and ensure safe and secure deployment of CAV in the UK. With 2020 being the UK’s year of CAV trials on public roads, BSI’s PAS series will not only provide guidance to CAV developers but also enable the development of public trust in CAV technology, an indispensable requirement for the success of this technology.

Standards for emerging technologies like CAVs tend to serve three key purposes:

they help consolidate the state of the art by sharing between experts
they enable interoperability of products from different manufacturers
they potentially keep a check on the introduction of immature or unsafe technology.

Furthermore, a key priority for the BSI CAV Standards programme was to create strong and robust standards without hindering innovation, especially in an evolving industry like CAV. A robust review and consultation process was therefore adopted involving stakeholder workshops and industry consultations.

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