With over 100 years of operation, the current automobile industry has settled
into an equilibrium with the development of methodologies, regulations, and
processes for improving safety. In addition, a nearly $2-trillion market
operates in the automotive ecosystem with connections into fields ranging from
insurance to advertising. Enabling this ecosystem is a well-honed, tiered supply
chain and an established development environment.
Autonomous vehicle (AV) technology is a leap forward for the existing automotive
industry; now the automobile is expected to manage perception and
decision-making tasks. The safety technologies associated with these tasks were
presented in an earlier SAE EDGE™ Research Report, “Unsettled Technology Areas
in Autonomous Vehicle Test and Validation.” In a later SAE EDGE™ Research
Report, “Unsettled Topics Concerning Automated Driving Systems and the
Transportation Ecosystem,” senior executives from the automotive ecosystem
explored the impact of AV technology as they faced the prospect of this
disruptive technology entering their marketplace. Interestingly, stable
use-models and market penetration were all gated primarily by the demonstration
of AV safety. Building on these previous verification and validation
(V&V)-related reports, “Unsettled Topics Concerning Automated Driving
Systems and the Development Ecosystem” explores the open issues in the shift of
the development and supplier environment toward a new AV-enabled future.
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
challenges they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny.