Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle-mile logistics, today announced that it has successfully closed two major pillars of its Safety Assessment Framework. Both the Safety Case Evaluation and Functional Safety phases of Gatik’s comprehensive Safety Assessment Framework were independently validated, marking a significant milestone on the company’s path to safely launching Freight-Only commercial operations this year. TÜV SÜD, a globally recognized independent testing, inspection, and certification organization with extensive experience in autonomous system safety assurance, provided independent, third-party validation that Gatik’s rigorous approach to the development of a comprehensive Safety Case and Functional Safety met the requirements of TÜV SÜD’s Autonomous Vehicle Conformity Framework, a globally-recognized process for evaluating autonomous vehicle safety across development, testing and deployment domains.
While self-certification has become the accepted standard for safety in the autonomous vehicle industry, Gatik’s Safety Assessment Framework enables traceability and transparency to all claims of safety that are made by virtue of an independent assessment. TÜV SÜD’s Autonomous Vehicle Conformity Framework involves an end-to-end review of Gatik’s Functional Safety portfolios, including the following key elements: Operational Design Domain (ODD), Item Definition, Testing, Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment (HARA), Coverage/Safety Analysis and Safety Culture. Importantly, these items and all others related to safety, trace to a comprehensive Safety Case allowing for appropriate oversight of the entire system. TÜV SÜD concluded that Gatik’s approach demonstrated substantial rigor and compliance with its internal requirements under the Autonomous Vehicle Conformity Framework.
“We strongly believe that the future of autonomous vehicles will be defined by those who prioritize safety above all else,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik’s CEO and co-founder. “This independently-validated audit of our Safety Case and Functional Safety methodology represents a radical departure from the self-certified safety audits that have become the industry norm. By engaging TÜV SÜD to provide this validation from an external vantage point, Gatik is setting a new benchmark for the industry – one that puts safety and transparency at the forefront of the autonomous vehicle revolution.”
“From the beginning, Gatik’s approach to safety has been defined by an uncompromising commitment to the highest standards, both internal and external” said Dr. Adam Campbell, Gatik’s Head of Safety. “The independent validation that we have pursued at Gatik meets the level of transparency that policymakers, first responders, business partners, and everyday drivers expect and deserve. TÜV SÜD’s assessment represents a tremendous vote of confidence in our approaches to scaling safety in our Safety Assessment Framework, serving as the foundation for our launch of Freight-Only commercial operations at scale this year.”
Gatik’s Safety Assessment Framework encompasses over 700 identified safety portfolios to address key pillars of AV safety: organizational safety culture, engineering quality (functional, behavioral and operational safety of the self-driving system), cyber security, vehicle safety, and Safety Case conformity to UL4600 and other industry standards. As part of the company’s commitment to transparency and accountability across all aspects of its approach to safe testing and deployment, Gatik will be publicly sharing further information on progress made towards completion of the Safety Assessment Framework prior to deployment of Freight-Only operations.
SOURCE: Gatik
