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The vehicles of the future are driving autonomously and are connected in order to make transport safer and more efficient, to enable the inclusion of persons who do not hold a driving licence and to maintain mobility services despite a shortage of skilled labour.
Autonomous driving
Germany plays a leading role in the field of autonomous driving. By adopting the Act on Autonomous Driving (cf. Federal Law Gazette I 2021, No. 48 of 27 July 2021, p. 3108), which entered into force on 28 July 2021, Germany created the first legal framework worldwide that allows for the deployment of driverless motor vehicles (level 4) on public roads – geographically limited to determined operational areas – beyond mere trialling. The operation of driverless motor vehicles is now possible for a variety of different application scenarios without finalizing conditions for a specific, individual application case. The Ordinance that fleshes out this Act entered into force on 1 July 2022 (cf. Federal Law Gazette I 2022, No. 22 of 30 June 2022, p. 986) and lays down, among other things, the detailed technical requirements in terms of design, characteristics and equipment of motor vehicles with autonomous driving functions and the corresponding approval and authorization procedures. As the national type approval authority, the Federal Motor Transport Authority is responsible in Germany for issuing approvals for motor vehicles with autonomous driving functions. The so-called determined operational areas within which the motor vehicles are to operate are approved by the authority responsible under federal state law (or, for the federal trunk roads, by the Federal Autobahn GmbH).
The Act on Autonomous Driving is an interim solution until internationally harmonised provisions enter into force. With a view to harmonised markets and standards, Germany is taking great interest in creating overarching rules. The Federal Ministry of Transport strongly advocates evolving the legal framework at EU and UNECE levels. Already now, Germany is driving innovation at international level: It is partly thanks to a German initiative that the level 3 lane keeping assistance system (ALKS — Automated Lane Keeping System) up to a speed of 130 km/h on motorways, which may, for example, be used in traffic jams, has been adopted at UN level.
Germany's leading role in autonomous driving is also reflected in funding. The Federal Government is providing financial assistance for research and development in order to make optimum use of the potential of autonomous and connected driving. Innovative technologies bring about new mobility solutions. Important test beds for autonomous driving are, among others, the A 9 motorway in Bavaria, cross-border test beds in Germany, France and Luxembourg as well as urban test beds in Hamburg, Berlin and Dresden. In rural areas, too, for example in Ludwigslust-Parchim, research projects with shuttle buses are driven forward in order to make public transport more user-friendly, more economical and more environmentally sustainable. Up to now, the Federal Ministry of Transport has provided roughly € 300 million of financial assistance for 85 projects in the field of automation and connectivity in road transport. Funded measures also include artificial intelligence methods.
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In order to meet the challenges of the 21st century in the field of road transport, the deployment of intelligent transport systems (ITS) is also an indispensable element of our transport policy. Here, the focus is on intelligent vehicle and infrastructure systems which can make road transport safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly by cooperating with each other.
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Levels of vehicle automation
The SAE levels (levels that classify assisted, automated and autonomous driving in accordance with SAE standard J3016) have established themselves for defining driving automation. The SAE automation levels can be summed up as follows:
- Level 0 (No Automation): The vehicle is fully controlled by the driver.
- Level 1 (Driver Assistance): The vehicle supports the driver in certain areas, e. g. with cruise control or lane keeping assistance.
- Level 2 (Partial Automation): The vehicle can perform certain tasks, such as accelerating, braking and steering, but the driver must remain vigilant.
- Level 3 (Conditional Automation): The vehicle can drive autonomously in certain situations. However, the driver must be ready to take over control.
- Level 4 (High Automation): The vehicle can drive autonomously but only in certain environments or situations.
- Level 5 (Full Automation): The vehicle can drive autonomously in any situation, without human intervention.
As the Federal Ministry of Transport’s leading research establishment in this field, the Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute (BASt) has established a user-friendly, simplified classification which focuses on the following three key modes:
- Assisted mode: The system supports the driver in certain tasks. The driver is responsible for the task of driving.
- Automated mode: If this mode is activated, the control is handed over to system completely. Subject to the requirements laid down in the German Road Traffic Act, drivers may perform other tasks than steering the vehicle; however, they must take them over again when prompted to do so by the system or if there are obvious irregularities.
- Autonomous mode: The system is taking over full control of the vehicle after this mode is activated. No driver is required in this mode. All vehicle occupants are passengers.