“What requirements apply to the type approval of AVs? What is the status of international development of regulations, directives and standards? How is testing of autonomous vehicles (AV) performed? At our workshop for international journalists, held here at ZalaZONE’s proving grounds, we seek to give international journalists a live introduction to all these issues”, says Patrick Fruth, CEO Division Mobility at TÜV SÜD. “As well as giving detailed insights into our testing activities, this presentation also highlights the current status of development.” The prominence given by TÜV SÜD to advancing this topic of the future is also reflected by its new and far-reaching cooperation with proving grounds operator ZalaZONE, which is aimed at developing and trialling new and, primarily, virtual test methods. The options unlocked by the test centre include the possibility of seamless digitisation of the results obtained from physical tests, which can then be used in the exploration, establishment and validation of virtual test methods. “With ZalaZONE, we now have one of the largest and most cutting-edge proving grounds on board. Thus, we can now supply our customers with a full-scale testing portfolio aimed at type approval services for all relevant markets from a single source”, emphasizes Patrick Fruth.

Harmonised
While regulations in this field, which include EU-L4, AFGBV, UNECE 157, long used to lag behind technology, they too have now gained enormous momentum. Germany, for example, has now passed the Autonomous Vehicle Approval and Operation Ordinance (Autonome Fahrzeuge Genehmigungs- und Betriebsverordnung, AFGBV), which transposes the EU L4 Directive into national law. This move makes Germany the first country able to carry out homologation in accordance with L4 requirements. TÜV SÜD experts are represented on all important committees and research facilities, not only in Germany and Europe, but worldwide. They act as “impartial translators” between manufacturers and regulators to accelerate the adoption of regulations and standards valid at international level. “Our impartiality, expertise and high public profile around the globe make TÜV SÜD the partner of trust for all stakeholders, speeding up the regulatory process for autonomous driving”, says Fruth.

Sustainable
Sustainability is one of the high expectations associated with new mobility. Digitalisation and automation of transport are promising major progress in areas including safety, efficiency and sustainability. Since 2007, the EU has been committed to the goal of further drastically reducing the number of road casualties by the introduction of various measures. In fact, the Vision Zero project has already achieved a great deal; since its introduction, the number of road casualties has dropped drastically, almost year by year. “If technology is safe and connectivity ensured so that the human-machine interface (HMI) is working ideally, autonomous driving will deliver another great leap towards the goal of zero road casualties”, explains Fruth. And autonomous driving also brings major benefits for the environment. In the not-too-distant future, algorithms will define what means of transport is best – including in environmental terms – for travelling from A to B: bicycle, car, train, ship or aircraft, under the banner of “intermodal mobility”. “Autonomous driving ensures maximum energy efficiency. The technology is sustainable through and through and thus brings us closer to Vision Zero in that respect, too – in other words, to zero environmentally harmful emissions”, says Fruth. On the subject of alternative fuels, TÜV SÜD is the only TIC company that maintains a global network of testing laboratories for large electric-vehicle batteries. TÜV SÜD is also one of the leading certification bodies for electric car charging stations in Europe, and has been an advocate of internationally harmonised strict safety standards for years. Beyond the above, TÜV SÜD has been working on various methods to improve the carbon footprint of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), including methods for determining the condition and value of a battery. Fruth explains, “The Mobility Division is consistently pursuing its sustainability strategy in this area, with our commitment to autonomous driving making a major contribution.”

Further information is available at www.tuvsud.com and http://zalazone.hu/.