Core priority “Safe mobility” and thus positively impact the lives of millions of people – Interview with Victor

Safe mobility moves us – not only professionally, but also very personally. With our team leader Victor, we not only examined these two perspectives, but also looked into the safety aspects of autonomous driving in the future. You can read about all of this and the prospects and challenges it poses for VAIVA in the following interview.

Hello Victor, as the current team leader and future department manager at VAIVA, you deal with vehicle safety every day. What does safe mobility mean to you personally?

As with probably many of you, my first thought in response to the question is that I feel safe on my way to work, during leisure time and when traveling, and that I can accompany my family by car, bicycle or on foot without fear.

On the other hand, I see safe mobility as a multidimensional issue. In addition to vehicles equipped with the latest safety features and technologies to prevent or mitigate accidents, we basically need to create an intelligent traffic management system in which, as far as possible, all road users and the traffic infrastructure are interconnected. Moreover, I see safety not just as a function in cars or in infrastructure, but as a comprehensive concept that also includes protecting the environment and promoting sustainable mobility.

I am particularly pleased that we at VAIVA have made safe mobility our core priority and that our contribution gives us the opportunity to bring a positive impact on the lives of millions of people..

What is the focus of your work in the “ADAS & Safety Features” department and how does it contribute to Vision Zero?

In the “ADAS & Safety Features” department, we make a decisive contribution to Vision Zero by developing advanced piloted driving functions and predictive safety features and also safeguarding them across all test levels for series use in Group vehicles. Our functions make it possible to identify critical traffic situations at an early stage and inform the driver of the potential risks or, if necessary, intervene directly in the driving situation to avoid the accident situation altogether or reduce its severity.

Since the Group departments draw on our expertise as early as the concept phase, we are involved in development from start to finish – this means that we accompany our functions from the concept idea to the production-ready product and even in some cases after the start of series production.

Throughout the entire V-model of software development, great emphasis is placed on quality and process conformity. With our ASPICE Level 2 stamp, we pride ourselves on maintaining a high level of quality and ensuring that we always develop the best solutions for our customers.

We are also actively committed to sustainably applying VAIVA’s in-house developed PMT landscape (processes, methods, tools) in our projects and to further improve it based on the experience gained from our various projects in collaboration with the Technology department.

Each of us in the department plays an important role in achieving Vision Zero and I am incredibly proud to be part of a team that is so committed to keeping people safe.

How will vehicle safety change as autonomous driving becomes more automated?

I see autonomous driving as an important step toward improving safety on the roads. This is because the driving functions in autonomous vehicles are able to react and adapt to the driving situation without human error and reaction times playing a role.

However, this brings new safety aspects to the car, which are primary only for autonomous vehicles. First, permanent internal or external monitoring must be implemented to ensure that the autonomous vehicle is always in a safe state or can ensure handover to the driver. Second, the new security functions must be developed with cyber security in mind to protect the car from attacks and hacks.

As VAIVA, we have a great opportunity to expand our portfolio of new security functions.