SIS 59 Virtual vs real: Harmonizing safety validation for automated vehicles

29 April 2026

Special Interest Session, Safety and resilience through intelligent systems

Special Interest Session • SIS 59 • 11:45 > 12:45 • SIS 59 Virtual vs real: Harmonizing safety validation for automated vehicles • YILDIZ 1 Special Interest Session
Deploying automated vehicles (AVs) on public roads isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a trust challenge. Safety validation is the key to earning confidence from regulators, cities, and citizens. Yet, CCAM stakeholders face a critical question: How do we balance virtual validation with real-world pilots when risk, liability, and performance benchmarks must align across public and private sectors?. This session offers a unique perspective by combining technical innovation, real-world experience, and cultural inclusion. We’ll start with the CERTAIN project, which develops a comprehensive framework addressing UNECE NATM pillars, including AI and Human-Machine Interface validation, and integrates V2X systems through virtual and physical testing from SAE L2 to L4. We will then explore PODIUM’s project real-world pilot in Turin, where V2X and digital twins enhanced safety validation and interoperability. Finally, the CulturalRoad project brings a human dimension, showing how participatory planning and its Five-Pointed Star Rating system ensure CCAM solutions reflect cultural and geographical diversity for socially accepted deployment. Speakers from cities, ITS providers, OEMs & data innovators, standards bodies, and research will share actionable strategies to harmonize safety validation and accelerate AV adoption.

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