CASE STUDY: HOLO IN OSLO Holo and Mobileye continue to fine-tune performance during winter conditions “RUTER’S ULTIMATE VISION IS TO HAVE 30,000 SMALL TO LARGE ALL-ELECTRIC AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES OPERATING IN OSLO BY 2030” Lars Himmer, CEO, Holo 99% of the time! It is challenging, but this is what is needed to expand further within Europe.” Tag team Meanwhile, Oslo’s residents can take comfort in knowing Ruter and Holo will only go full self-driving when the evidence supports such a move: “Currently, the safety operator is always in the vehicle. They have a safety role, providing in-vehicle decision support, and we also use remote supervision for monitoring and orchestrating operations.” The safety drivers also ‘tag’ every notable issue or behavior change: “If the operator thinks the vehicle has slowed or stopped unnecessarily, or they don’t really understand why it did what it did, they create a tag,” explains Himmer. “We then look with Mobileye to see The Nio vehicles are currently deployed on a wide mix of roads if this happens every time at the same place and with different safety operators, and if there is a need for an update.” Holo will continue to validate and improve the performance of the vehicles in collaboration with Mobileye over the next two to three months, working toward the ability to provide a service across the entire ODD. “The first winter mode from Mobileye will be available this winter after input from Holo,” notes Himmer. “It’s still early days, but Mobileye’s technology is proving incredibly capable, even in adverse weather, and that brings much optimism. We definitely won’t be removing safety operators from the current Nio vehicles; however, we are already working on procuring the next generation of Mobileye-enabled vehicles for that milestone, with a goal to remove all safety operators by 2025.” Himmer insists that the decision to remove safety operators will be based on documented safety and performance criteria currently being discussed with the Norwegian authorities – and only after their acceptance: “This will most likely derive from EU Regulation 1426, as it applies to the type approval of AVs for small batch production,” he says. He also emphasizes the project’s ambition to trial numerous vehicles from multiple suppliers: “Ruter’s ultimate vision is to have 30,000 small to large all-electric autonomous vehicles operating in Oslo by 2030, removing the need for any private transportation – this will require more than one supplier, so it’s very important to test different variants.” Currently, Holo’s focus is on securing the first permits for autonomous operation with no safety operator on board by the end of next year: “In Grorud, we expect to get close to zero human interventions by the end of 2025. It may be that ultimately we are confined to limited geography, time of day or weather conditions, but we’re pushing for full operation without any constraints. First, however, we must prove the technology. We would never apply for a permit, nor operate the vehicles, if we ourselves did not consider it safe. It is still early days, but we’ve already learned about operational setup, data collection, validation driving, the training of safety operators and safety concepts.” Himmer says it would be premature to share data on current interventions per kilometer, with the trial still very much in its early stages. “It’s a work in progress – we give input to Mobileye, they make a software update, we upload this to the vehicles, we run it again and something will be better, but we might also notice something different. It’s about pushing for continuous improvement. It’s too early to comment on interventions in Grorud. We are not validating with that goal in mind just yet.” He has some choice advice for anyone else considering a similar deployment: “Go with tested and proven technology vendors. Test yourself in controlled conditions. And use studded tires and very capable safety operators!” Overall, Himmer says it’s critical to ensure the technology matches the ambitions of the project: “There are lots of technology companies promoting products as more advanced and capable than they are. Holo has extensive experience in evaluating the technology and the companies behind them for their ability to deliver. Make sure your vendor can support you through implementation. Take the operational setup and strong safety processes and culture seriously, and make sure you have the support of, and a good dialogue with, the authorities.” 50 ADAS & Autonomous Vehicle International April 2024