European Project 'Adaptive' Moves Automated Driving Forwards

BERLIN – Feb 4, 2014: Friday marked the beginning of the European research project AdaptIVe (Automated Driving Applications & Technologies for Intelligent Vehicles) at the MobileLifeCampus in Wolfsburg, Germany. It is a consortium of 29 partners that aims to achieve breakthrough advances that will lead to more efficient and safe automated driving.

Automated vehicles will contribute towards enhanced traffic safety by assisting drivers and minimising human errors. They are also expected to make traffic flow more efficiently, ensuring optimal driving conditions with minimal speed variations in the traffic flow.

“This complex field of research will not only utilise onboard sensors, but also cooperative elements such as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. Therefore, I am glad that most European automotive companies are cooperating in this pre-competitive field to create new solutions for automated driving,” says Professor Jürgen Leohold, Executive Director of Volkswagen Group Research.

Over the planned 42-month duration of AdaptIVe, the partners will develop and test new functionalities for cars and trucks, offering both partially automated and highly automated driving on motorways, in urban scenarios, and for close-distance manoeuvres.

The focus of the project will be on achieving ideal cooperative interaction between the driver and the automated system by using advanced sensors, cooperative vehicle technologies and adaptive strategies in which the level of automation is dynamically adapted to the situation and driver status.

Seven cars and one truck will demonstrate various combinations of automated functions. In addition to addressing technology development aspects, the project will also explore legal implications for manufacturers and drivers - in particular regarding product liability and road traffic laws.

The consortium, led by Volkswagen, consists of ten major automotive manufacturers, suppliers, research institutes and universities and small and medium-sized businesses. The project has a budget of 25 million euros and is funded by the European Commission.

“AdaptIVe” includes the following partners: Automotive Manufacturers: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH, Centro Ricerche Fiat SCPA, Daimler AG, Adam Opel AG, Peugeot Citroën Automobiles S.A., RENAULT s.a.s. represented by GIE Regienov, Volkswagen AG, Volvo Personvagnar AB, Volvo Group, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering Europe

Suppliers: Robert Bosch GmbH, Continental, Delphi Deutschland GmbH

Research Institutes and Universities: Bundesanstalt fuer Strassenwesen, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft-und Raumfahrt eV, Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek –TNO, Fundación para la Promoción de la Innovación, Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en la Industria de Automoción de Galicia, Chalmers tekniska hoegskola, Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule Aachen, University of Leeds, Lunds Universitet, Universitŕ degli Studi di Trento, Julius-Maximilians Universitaet Wuerzburg