Call to Certify Remote Controllers of Driverless Vehicles

Greg Hyde

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12th April 2019

Remote controlled driverless vehicles must have certification for operators to ensure safety standards.

Speaking to TU-Automotive, Manuela Papadopol, CEO of vehicle remote control system provider Designated Driver, said the challenges facing teleoperators sitting up to 1,000 miles away from the vehicles they control, must be certified at a national level. She said: “We have to look at new standards or update the existing standards but also create new ones.”

Sensors

Papadopol believes the different sets of sensors used by various autonomous vehicles demand a variety of driving skills from teleoperators and suggests establishing a system of skill certification for these operators. She explained: “As a remote driver, the teleoperator is a driver but would they have to think about sensors? I don’t think so.

“The teleoperator, first of all, needs to have a different set of skills and requirements. Whether the vehicle is a truck or an agriculture unit or if it’s mining equipment or a passenger vehicle or a shuttle, the sensors on those vehicles might be different, so the set of skills and the ability and the driving needed are totally different.

“However, you are not looking at a teleoperator as someone who is going to drive your car on a highway at 65mph. That’s not the goal of the teleoperator, so how do you decide what the driving capabilities are and how do you nationally create that skill set? You certify it and you provide a driver’s license.”