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Development of automated driving in south-west Germany relies on TÜV SÜD’s safety expertise

Karlsruher Verkehrsverbund GmbH, operator of the Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg, and TÜV SÜD Auto Service GmbH signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement this week concerning the development and approval of autonomous vehicles. The Test Area provides research institutions and companies with the opportunity to test vehicles in everyday traffic. The project receives funding from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport. This new partnership in the field of autonomous driving development further underlines TÜV SÜD’s objective of becoming the foremost partner for impartial safety expertise in the mobility of tomorrow.

“TÜV SÜD has guaranteed the safety and public acceptance of technical innovations for over 150 years. Given this, we are delighted to partner the Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg, providing practical support to advance the safety of driving in the future”, says Patrick Fruth, Head of the Mobility Division at TÜV SÜD. Under the new partnership, which covers system, IT and data security, TÜV SÜD’s experts will initially provide support in setting up a quality management system to form the basis of operations at the test field. The specialists will also offer assistance in all issues related to use of the test field and vehicle approval. Patrick Fruth explains, “The octagon quality mark is a symbol of the safe, secure development of a new technology; but it also paves the way for widespread acceptance of the Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg”.

Partner in vehicle approval

And on the subject of the octagon mark, before companies and research institutions send their vehicles onto the test track, the experts from TÜV SÜD award an appropriate quality mark for the individual project after a comprehensive process of validation and consulting. TÜV SÜD therefore plays an indirect role in vehicle development in relation to road approval. For all the stakeholders, this is an important part of establishing standards for the approval of highly automated and autonomous vehicles. TÜV SÜD also has the role of supporting communication between Test Field customers and approval authorities, and to assist in obtaining individual and prototype approvals. “Backed by a wealth of experience, we can be particularly useful right from the development stage by providing support at the interface with approval authorities, especially for vehicles designed for public transport services”, says Dr Houssem Abdellatif, Global Head Autonomous Driving at TÜV SÜD.

The Test Area Autonomous Driving Baden-Württemberg will be officially opened on the premises of Karlsruhe Public Transport Authority (KVV) on 3 May 2018. For more information, visit https://taf-bw.de/en/.

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Press-contact: Vincenzo Lucà