16 July Changchun, China and online
Name: Dominik Schuster, Vice President Vehicle Safety
Company: BMW Group
Presentation Title: The Future of Vehicle Safety - A Paradigm Shift From "What" To "How And "Why"
Session: Keynote
What are you planning to talk about at the Intelligent Safety Conference, and who do you think will benefit most from what you have to say?
The title of my presentation is 'The Future of Vehicle Safety - A Paradigm Shift From "What" To "How And Why"'. The technological evolution, or to a certain extent revolution, in the automotive industry poses new unprecedented challenges, especially for vehicle safety. Especially in the area of advanced driver assistance systems, the testing methods and the proof of real world effectiveness is much more system-bound than in the “traditional” passive safety sector. Furthermore, the human factor, again in contrast to passive safety, leads to yet another level of complexity. Therefore, it should be the endeavour of OEMs and authorities to find common answers to central questions like "How do we evaluate new assistance systems and why should we focus on certain systems/technologies and not others?" Communication formats such as the "FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China 2021" are an excellent exchange platform for discussing these complex issues.
Intelligent safety technology is at the heart of mobility development – how do you see it evolving as ADAS develops into fully autonomous functionality?
Regardless of some likely marketing-driven reports, it will take some time before we see a fully autonomous level 5 system in mass production. The transition of responsibility from the driver to the vehicle and the interaction of cruising speed and complex environmental boundary conditions are the greatest challenges here. That is why autonomous driving systems work either in higher speed ranges with less complex scenarios (e.g. highway) or slower speed with more challenging boundary conditions (e.g. autonomous parking). The introduction and establishment of level 3 or higher systems will therefore take place via an intermediate step in the rather low speed range, in order to successively increase system performance over the next few years while at the same time ensuring the controllability of the system.
" The transition of responsibility from the driver to the vehicle and the interaction of cruising speed and complex environmental boundary conditions are the greatest challenges here".
What other factors do you expect to shape the development of intelligent safety technology? (e.g., legislation or standards, new technology, or changing consumer expectations)
It is indisputably essential that the close cooperation and open exchange of recent years between OEMs and legislators on the subject of vehicle safety has to be maintained and even intensified in order to create the necessary standards and framework for intelligent safety technology. Especially under the previously described challenges with automated driving functions, this multidisciplinary exchange is indispensable. Furthermore cooperative and connected systems could serve as a complementary safety feature. This would not only increase the perceived customer benefit, but could add some benefits for traffic safety (e.g. local hazard warning, etc.). However, the additional gain in effectiveness and precision to current and future non-cooperative in-vehicle sensor technologies, which remain the cornerstones of active safety systems, is still being evaluated.
"It is indisputably essential that the close cooperation and open exchange of recent years between OEMs and legislators on the subject of vehicle safety has to be maintained and even intensified in order to create the necessary standards and framework for intelligent safety technology".
What attracts you personally to the area of intelligent safety?
In the past, vehicle safety has been dominated by systems and established approaches in the area of passive safety. The resulting reduction in fatalities and injuries is remarkable, but after all these years it also clearly shows that this proven approach is reaching a point of diminishing returns. In recent years, manufacturers, legislators and consumer protection organizations have increasingly focused on intelligent or active safety systems, which already demonstrate their potential for overcoming these limitations. Personally, it excites me to help shape this transformation together with my team at BMW and our multidisciplinary partners worldwide, and to play an active role in opening a new chapter in vehicle safety.
What advances or changes in intelligent safety would you most like to see implemented in mainstream vehicles?
I am deeply convinced that future advances in vehicle safety will be achieved by avoiding or reducing the potential dangers of critical traffic situations. As I have already mentioned, many new crash avoidance systems have conquered the mass market in recent years and already cover a large bandwidth of accident scenarios. We now need to continue along this path. In doing so, we should work together in two directions. First, to further increase the effectiveness of the already existing and proven systems, e.g. through the use of virtual testing. Second, when it comes to new (intelligent) safety systems, we should focus on those that provide the greatest benefit in real-world accidents and have high customer acceptance. Making the right decisions here in terms of "how" we should test and "why" we should choose a new advanced safety system will, in my opinion, become much more of a focus and a challenge in the future. Hence the title of my presentation for the "FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China 2021".
Register for the FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China to attend the full event in Changchun, or check back on the webpage for the link to watch the Keynote Session, Panel session and 'Impacts of Human Factors on Safety' session live streamed on the day.
About Dominik Schuster
Since 2021 Dominik Schuster is VP Vehicle Safety for all products of BMW Group. He is responsible for the development of active safety, passive safety, accident research as well as the safety aspects of automated driving for all vehicles of the brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce.
After school and his military service at the German Airforce he studied mechanical engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Munich and graduated as Dipl.-Ing. (FH) in 2004. Immediately after his graduation he started his automotive career at BMW as an engineer for passive safety concepts.
During the next years he held several functions in the BMW vehicle safety department. After becoming department manager for simulation of body structure, exterior and interior in 2017 he became Vice President Vehicle Safety in January 2021.
Together with his wife Susann he has two children at the age of 5 and 8. He is a passionate sportsman and whenever possible, enjoys activities like playing Tennis or hiking in the Alps.
About FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China 2021
Registration is now open so book your place today.
FISITA and China SAE are delighted to confirm that the third annual FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference China will take place 16 July 2021 in Changchun, China, with physical or online participation available to registered participants.
Following highly successful events in 2019 and 2020, FISITA Intelligent Safety Conference 2021 will run as a stand-alone conference for the first time.
The 2021 event will feature keynote speeches and a panel discussion, followed by three parallel technical sessions on the Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF), Cybersecurity and the Impacts of Human Factors on Safety.
The event is co-organised in China by Jilin University and Automotive Innovation and supported by Tsinghua University and the CAICV SOTIF Working Group.
Sponsorship
Sponsor packages are available. To discuss sponsorship participation, please contact Nadine Lloyd at sales@fisita.com.