Overview
ISO/TR 20545:2017 - titled Intelligent transport systems - Vehicle/roadway warning and control systems - Report on standardisation for vehicle automated driving systems (RoVAS)/Beyond driver assistance systems - is an ISO Technical Report that maps potential areas and items for standardization of automated driving systems. The report addresses systems that control both longitudinal and lateral vehicle motion simultaneously, and organizes candidates for standards in a systematic way. It is an informational document (not a normative standard) produced by ISO/TC 204.
Key topics
- Scope and purpose: identification and classification of potential standardization topics for automated driving systems, including when, what and by whom standardization activities could proceed.
- Notional architectures: both functional and physical architectures are presented to extract areas for standardization (entities, interfaces, and functional transitions).
- Classification of items: potential topics are grouped into common items, basic functional requirements, and other items (see Annex B mapping).
- Common items:
- Terminology: need for harmonized definitions to avoid inconsistent usage across regions.
- Levels of automation: harmonization of automation level names and criteria (noting existing differences among SAE, NHTSA, BASt).
- Automated driving system reference architecture: a shared framework to describe recognition, decision/planning and interfaces.
- Basic functional requirements: system requirements per automation level (recognition, sensing area, decision/planning, on/off switching conditions and interfaces).
- Other important issues: safety, reliability, security, event data recorders, privacy principles, test methods and distinguishing automated systems from driver-assisted systems.
- Approach to standardization: discussion of standards organizations, priorities and possible sequencing of work (Annex A).
Applications and who uses it
ISO/TR 20545:2017 is intended to guide:
- Standards developers and ISO/TC workgroups evaluating scope and priorities for automated-driving standards.
- Automotive OEMs and Tier‑1 suppliers designing architecture, interfaces and safety/reliability features.
- Regulators and policy makers seeking harmonized definitions and levels of automation for legislation and consumer communication.
- Test laboratories and certification bodies planning test methods, event data recorder requirements and validation criteria.
- ITS system integrators and infrastructure planners coordinating V2V/V2I interactions and connected automated driving modes.
Practical uses include sharing a common perception of standardization needs, selecting standardization items, estimating coverage/priorities, and aligning terminology and architectures across stakeholders.
Related standards
The report references the landscape of existing level definitions (e.g., SAE, NHTSA, BASt) and complements ongoing ISO/IEC work in intelligent transport systems, but it does not itself create normative requirements. Use it as a roadmap for harmonized standardization of automated driving systems, safety, security and interoperability.