Page - (000171) - in Autonomes Fahren - Technische, rechtliche und gesellschaftliche Aspekte

1598.3 Visions of autonomous driving in Europe aims at advancing platooning (convoying to make more efficient use of road space). The project HAVE-it follows a long-term vision of autonomous driving and aims at high levels of automation. The purpose of the project is to “develop, validate and demon- strate important intermediate steps towards highly automated driving” such as advanced driver assistance systems. The research project, “SMART- New services enabled by the connected car”, focused on the implication, benefits, and services of connected cars. The project’s final report concluded that the connected car may make better use of infra- structure and will increase safety as well as fuel efficiency. The EU project “Citymobil – Advanced Transport for the Urban Environment” looked at automated public transport systems and some showcases (e. g. La Rochelle, Heathrow) with the aim of bringing the implementation of these public transport systems in cities one step further. An example of a joint public-private R&D initiative supported by various directorates-general (RTD – Research and Innovation, CNECT – Communications Networks, Content and Technology, ENER – Energy, ENV – Environment, ENTR – Enterprise and Industry) in the vehicle area is the European Green Cars Initiative launched in 2009 and with a priority on the development of efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly mobility, especially elec- tro-mobility. Another important project is AdaptIVe, a successor to InteractIVe. Started in January 2014 and funded by the European Union’s Framework 7 Program, this consortium of 29 partners aims to demonstrate the potentials for automated driving in complex traffic environments while addressing some legal issues related to levels 1 to 4 of the SAE clas- sification system. Currently, the European Union is supporting research on autonomous driving within its framework research support scheme, “Horizon 2020”. There are several entry points for research on autonomous vehicles under the Horizon 2020 work program on leadership in enabling and industrial technologies in the section on Information and Communication Technologies [22]. Research for the transport sector is funded via the work program’s section 11 on smart, green and integrated transport. Here, autonomous driving is explicitly mentioned: “Automated and progressively autonomous driving applications in road trans- port, actively interacting with their intelligent environment could provide an answer to the EU objective of reconciling growing mobility needs with more efficient transport opera- tions, lower environmental impacts and increased road safety” [21]. Apart from technical aspects including research on Advanced Driver Assistance Services, other aspects are supported such as behavioral aspects of driving (users’ responses to technology and on-board infrastructure, conditions of attention/loss of attention, etc.), ethical and gender issues as well as liability and standardization questions. The aim is to enhance the technol- ogy’s robustness and effectiveness in real-life situations. In sum, research funded by the EU addresses various aspects of vehicle automation, the linking of information and communication systems to enhance efficiency, and research into autonomous vehicle technologies. There are growing signs of interest in the legal and so- cietal implications of various automation levels and efforts to develop common definitions of vehicle automation levels. In the future, there will be need for more research on legal and societal questions tied to the greater use of automation in the transport sector.