Assisted and Automated Driving at Porsche

Since the introduction of Park Distance Control and adaptive cruise control in the mid-2000s, Porsche has integrated driver assistance and automated driving technologies into its product lines. This does not contradict the philosophy of a sports car—customers who like to drive themselves in appropriate traffic conditions expect driving to be made significantly easier in stressful, time-consuming situations such as traffic jams or busy parking spaces.

Although the general discussion focuses on the higher levels of automation from SAE Level 3 to Level 4, Level 1 and 2 systems will play a significant role for the next decade, at least, and represent the technological state of the art for most vehicles. In this environment, Porsche is focusing on increasing the performance and functionality of Level 1 and 2 driver assistance systems while developing programs that enable automated driving at Level 3 and 4. This offers the opportunity to build the necessary expertise in sensor technology, sensor fusion, planning and control, as well as the processes, methods, and tools required for the development, approval, and release of higher-level automated driving systems.

Systems engineering must be combined with approaches to processing very large amounts of data, while traditional random testing on the road must be transformed into a combination of virtual and systematic testing. Finally, a new end-to-end electronic architecture is required to ensure the seamless integration of the vehicle with the IT infrastructure.

In this keynote speech, hear Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bortolazzi illustrate how Porsche is addressing these challenges in the development of assisted and automated driving.