There is a lot of research and experimentation in Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), but there is not much in terms of standardisation. That should not be a suprise because a traditional approach could well consider CAV standards as premature at this time, and some affected industries may even not be ready yet for such a step.

Still standardisation of CAV is needed because of the following reasons.

  1. The different nature of the interacting technologies making up a CAV.
  2. The sheer size of the future CAV market.
  3. The need for users and regulators alike to be assured of CAV safety, reliability and explainability.

But what would be the target of a CAV standard? For sure not the CAV itself because each manufacturers has their own ideas about how a CAV should be presented to buyers.  CAVs, however, belong at best to an industry still being formed, targeting the production of affordable CAV units in the hundreds of millions. Some may think – like the car manufacturers of 100 years ago – that they can make CAVs entirely relying on their own forces, but that approach will shift the perspective of a mass market of CAV to the reemote future. CAVs are urgently needed because they promise to have a major positive impact on the environment and society. To reduce their costs, early availability of critical components is required.

The role of a CAV standard should be that of facilitating the achievement of this goal and its development can be accelerated by creating a CAV Reference Model (RM) that subdivides the CAV to components to the lowest atomic level possible. The standard should concern the components, their functions and their interfaces.

When we say components we do not intend the mechanical ones, but those that make a CAV a vehicle capable of sensing the environment and make decisions about how to best move in the physical environment to reach the requested target.

There is no such thing as _the_ CAV Reference Model. There can only be good assumptions that need confirmation from requirements and research. Progression from research to standardisation can then be implemented as a series of transitions between research – proposing components and interfaces to standardisation – and standardisation – possibly requesting more results, or refining the results, or adopting the proposal. Eventually, industry will receive a set of specifications for functions and interfaces. Implementation in products relies at a minimum on the know-how of those who have driven standard component  the development of those specifications.

A CAV Reference Model (RM) identifying components and their interfaces can accelerate the definition of standard components. Progression from research to standardation can unfold as a series of proposals from research suggesting components and interfaces to standardisation, and standardisation either requesting more results, or refining the results, or adopting the proposals. Eventually, industry will receive a set of specifications for standard component functions and interfaces to be implemented as best available technology allows. Implementation in products will rely, as a minimum, on the know how of those who have driven the development of the specific­ations.

The series of publications deals with:

  1. Why an MPAI-CAV standard?
  2. Introduction to MPAI-CAV Subsystems
  3. Human-CAV interaction
  4. Environment Sensing Subsystem
  5. CAV to Everything
  6. Autonomous Motion Subsystem
  7. Motion Actuation Subsystem

Return to MPAI-CAV page.