Research and Innovation for Automated Driving in Germany and Europe

German and European vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers have been at the forefront of developing and commercializing advanced driver assistance systems in the past. They are thus well prepared to proceed towards increasing levels of road vehicle automation, and engage in a multitude of technology development and demonstration actions around the world, now. Nonetheless, serious steps in reliability, security and affordability of the key enabling technologies still need to be taken and solutions for the liability issues and legal requirements have to be found before a broad rollout of automated driving in Europe. Starting from the motivations of automated driving this chapter reviews recent achievements in driver assistance systems and highlights promising paths of future development of automated driving, pointing out the research and innovation needs in key enabling technologies and also considering solutions for non-technical issues. Furthermore, potential synergies between the automation and the electrification of the vehicle are analyzed.