On 2 and 3 April 2019, FIA Region I contributed to the organisation of the second European Conference on Connected and Automated Driving (EUCAD) as part of the European project ARCADE. Being held in collaboration with the European Commission, this year’s conference was devoted to the theme: ‘Connected Automated Driving: Europe takes the lead’.

The event brought together researchers, users, road operators, representatives from the automotive and telecom industries as well as participants from the private and public sector, to discuss the benefits and challenges of connected and automated driving (CAD). During two days of intense working sessions, thought leaders and experts from the field debated topics ranging from the technical systems underlying CAD functionalities to regulation and user acceptance.

The key takeaways from the discussions include:

• Bringing CAD systems to the road is a global challenge.
• To ensure user acceptance, CAD regulation needs to address safety and traffic rules, data ownership and a clear liability framework.
• The affordability of CAD systems is crucial for the market uptake of the technology.
• The sharing of safety-critical scenarios between OEMs and third parties will be crucial to advance CAD technology. Possible ways of sharing this data without compromising the competitive environment in Europe and respecting personal data were discussed.

As part of a panel discussion on public acceptance and adoption of CAD, FIA Region I’s Director General Laurianne Krid offered insights from a consumer perspective.
In her speech, Mrs. Krid highlighted three central expectations towards CAD: reaching the zero-accident vision, potential benefits for users, and improving the sustainability of transport.
Furthermore, Mrs. Krid used the opportunity to elaborate on the findings of FIA Region I’s recent study on the economic impact of existing data models for vehicle data.

Furthermore, in the framework of the conference, the European Commission launched the Single Platform for Open Road testing and pre-deployment of cooperative, connected, automated and autonomous mobility, to provide advice and support in testing and pre-deployment activities for CAD and announced the publication of its Ethics Guidelines for trustworthy AI.

To learn more about the EUCAD 2019 and access the recorded webstreams of the sessions, please visit the conference website.