HEADSTART, Harmonised European Solutions for Testing Automated Road Transport

Objective

HEADSTART will provide test methods to demonstrate the functionality used in CAD (Connected and Automated Driving) to be adequatelly safe. The project targets functions based on positioning, communication between vehicles and cyber security. All the three properties must be dependable for the automated functions to be safe.

Challenge

Safety is a cornerstone to be able to apply automated driving. The interaction between the driver, the vehicle and the infrastruture must provide safety in the traffic environment. All roads users need to trust the safety of the automated functions.

Approach

The project is a cooperation between partners from nine European countries and will run for three years; 2019-2021. The Swedish partners Chalmers University of Technology, RISE, AstaZero, Volvo Group and Veoneer join within SAFER, Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers.

HEADSTART is organised in following work packages:
WP1: Use cases and requirements
WP2: Test, validation and certification methodologies and procedures
WP3: Procedures, environments and Tools
WP4: Application and demonstration
WP5: Expert network and international cooperation
WP6: Communication and Dissemination
WP7: Coordination and management.   

Effect and result

HEADSTART brings together a large representation of stakeholders across the value chain leveraging the knowledge from European and national activities on CAD testing. The consortium and associated stakeholders will cluster the most relevant initiatives, develop the specific procedures and tools missing and harmonise the whole approach to reach a harmonised European solution for testing, validating and certifying automated road vehicles. This will be achieved through international cooperation with industry, academia and policy makers participating in dedicated working groups of a managed expert network during the whole project duration.