The transfer of control is likely to be associated with risks for the ego vehicle as well as for the surrounding traffic. There will be some scenarios in which a transfer of control is inappropriate and / or a driver take-over should not be allowed until the ADF is well within its limits ( or boundaries) of operations. The transfer itself must be designed in a robust and intuitive way in order to ensure that the driver has regained situational awareness. HVI is a key component to communicate, whether the driver is responsible for controlling the vehicle or the ADF. Even if the driver is fully in control of the vehicle, there is still a significant risk that the driver has not completely regained situational awareness and will not respond appropriately to all scenarios. It is important that these risks are considered over the entirety for all scenarios.
Additional information regarding considerations for a safe transfer of control is provided by:
- “Safety first for automated driving”, (Wood et al. 2019)
- UNECE R157 (2021), “Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to Automated Lane Keeping Systems”
- ISO technical report “Road vehicles — Safety and cybersecurity for automated driving systems — Design, verification and validation”, ISO/PRF TR 4804 (2020)
Main Question
Are the risks to the surrounding traffic during transition/transfer of control identified and assessed?
Sub-Questions
- Can the ADF recognise function or driver limits that do not allow a safe driver takeover, and react to minimise the risk?
- Is the process of initiating a driver takeover been designed to be robust, safe, and intuitive?
- Does the ADF take into account driver’s reduced situational awareness in order to mitigate risks to surrounding traffic?
- Have all the scenarios where a transfer of control might be considered inappropriate identified (for e.g., severe failures) ?
- Does the ADF ensure that sufficient time is provided for a safe transition to manual driving?
References
- ISO (2020) TR 4804: Road vehicles — Safety and cybersecurity for automated driving systems — Design, verification and validation. Available at: https://www.iso.org/standard/80363.html (Accessed: 18 October 2023)
- UN Regulation No. 157 – Automated Lane Keeping Systems (ALKS). Available at: https://unece.org/transport/documents/2021/03/standards/un-regulation-no-157-automated-lane-keeping-systems-alks (Accessed: 12 February 2024)
- Wood, M., Knobel, C., Garbacik, N., et al. (2019). “Safety first for automated driving”,Safety First Automated Driving. Available at: https://www.connectedautomateddriving.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Safety_First_for_Automated_Driving.pdf (Accessed: 31 October 2023).