The third year of the SUNRISE project started with exciting news. During its General Assembly last month, the project gave a preview of the launch of its interactive web-based handbook, which is scheduled to go live before the end of the year. The handbook will serve as a powerful tool for co-creating the building blocks of the CCAM Safety Assurance Framework.
The core objective of the SUNRISE Project is to design a Safety Assurance Framework (SAF) for CCAM systems. The framework adopts a scenario-based approach, where tests (virtual testing, track testing and real-life testing) are based on scenarios for assessing the safety of the systems. Additionally, it provides procedures to monitor that the CCAM’s safety is maintained during the system’s lifecycle. These will allow the production of verification, validation and rating procedures based on realistic and relevant test cases.
The deployment of the SUNRISE SAF will use various tools, one of the most important ones being the interactive web-based SAF handbook. The SAF handbook is the name of the co-creating platform established to engage a wide set of stakeholders The platform is designed to be user friendly and intuitive.
How does it work?
The SAF handbook allows users to create scenarios directly from the platform using data-based and knowledge-based approaches. Some scenarios focus more on real-world data collection and sampling techniques, while others incorporate both data-driven and theoretical approaches to ensure comprehensive coverage. Advanced data sources, such as drone databases, are also employed to enhance scenario generation, particularly for environments that are difficult to simulate using traditional data collection methods. Importantly, among the wide array of features offered, the handbook also allows users to format, store, test and monitor their scenarios. By allowing the creation of a diverse and rich pool of scenarios, the SAF handbook covers a wide range of possible situations that automated systems may encounter in real-world conditions.
The future of the handbook
Acknowledging the importance of international collaboration for the CCAM community, is the platform intends to allow users around the world to access it to assess the safety of their systems easily and intuitively. The first version of the interactive handbook will be live before the end of this year on the SUNRISE website. The final version will be ready in the summer of 2025. There are plans to also integrate it in other CCAM portals such as the FAME project Knowledge Base, a portal that builds on the findings and insights from previous research, facilitating future advancements in the development, testing, and evaluation of CCAM solutions and their broader influence. The platform will also be used by experts from the SYNERGIES project, whose objective is to fully enable the development, training, virtual testing and scalable scenario-based validation of CCAM systems, partially by empowering the Safety Assurance Framework developed in SUNRISE.
Industry-relevant impact
The SUNRISE objectives align with the principles of ERTICO’s 2035 Roadmap for CCAM, which envisions harmonized regulatory frameworks across the EU, along with integrated, inclusive, and infrastructure-supported operational CCAM services that contribute to decarbonization.
The handbook feeds into the more practical objectives of The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and the CCAM Partnership, especially concerning road safety, resilience and collaboration. The establishment and adoption of the SUNRISE Safety Assurance Framework and its handbook will deliver profound societal, economic and ultimately environmental benefits, ushering in a new era of enhanced safety and security within the connected, cooperative and automated systems environment.
