Technical Reference (TR) 68, Singapore’s provisional national standards to guide the development of fully autonomous vehicles[1] (AVs), has been enhanced to better support deployment of autonomous vehicles in Singapore. It provides AV companies with a set of comprehensive guidelines for safe deployment of AV solutions in Singapore.
2 Led by the industry and supported by the Land Transport Authority, the latest review of TR 68 was conducted from March 2020 to July 2021, by four working groups appointed by the Singapore Standards Council overseen by Enterprise Singapore. These included representatives from the AV industry, research institutions, institutes of higher learning, public transport operators, and government agencies. Overseas experts were also consulted during the process.
3 The revised TR 68 introduces new guidelines on the application of machine learning, software updates management, cybersecurity principles and testing framework that will enable AVs to keep pace with recent technology advancements, and further smoothen the transition from development to operationalisation of AVs. It also provides updated safety guidelines for test-bedding of AV solutions on Singapore roads. To facilitate the co-creation of smart mobility solutions and enhance AV interoperability among different service providers, the revised standards feature updates to data types and formats. The key updates to the TR are summarised below:
a) Part 1 – Basic behaviour
- New guidelines for AV developers on how AVs should interact with other road users
- Updates to how an AV should conduct various manoeuvres like lane change, overtaking and approaching pedestrian crossings.
- Inclusion of handling of special situations to cater for the safety of AV occupants and other road users, as well as providing situational awareness to AV occupants.
b) Part 2 – Safety
- New guidelines for the development of pre-defined rules to facilitate safety of continued operations and/or pre-deployment maintenance upon detecting faults in vehicular components which affect or might affect safety.
- New elements to guide AV developers in their application and development processes for the implementation of Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning in AV systems to ensure the safe operation of AVs.
c) Part 3 - Cybersecurity principles and assessment framework
- Enhanced cybersecurity requirements based on principles such as security-by-design to ensure that cybersecurity is considered from an early stage of development and built into the design, so that AV systems are resilient to cybersecurity attacks.
- Updates on cybersecurity assessment framework to further safeguard against cybersecurity risks through an independent third-party assessment of the AV.
d) Part 4 – Vehicular data types and formats
- Inclusion of new data formats for charging stations, charging slots, electronic toll, infrastructural information, transit stops and transportation service provision.
5 The revision of TR68 will further enhance Singapore’s contributions to the development of international AV standards, through our participation in the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO). Currently, TR68 is also referenced in the development of ISO 37181 on “Smart community infrastructures — Smart transportation by autonomous vehicles on public roads”. Likewise, the revised TR 68 will continue to take reference from relevant international standards, such as on design control requirements and definitions, and be further refined in partnership with the AV industry as AV technology continues to progress.
6 The Singapore Manufacturing Federation – Standards Development Organisation (SMF-SDO) will be scheduling a workshop[2] in October 2021 to help companies understand and implement TR 68 effectively. TR 68 can be purchased from the Singapore Standards eShop at www.singaporestandardseshop.sg.
About Technical Reference 68
7 First published in 2019, TR 68 is a set of provisional guidelines to support the safe deployment of autonomous vehicles. It comprises four parts: basic behaviour, safety, cybersecurity principles and assessment; and vehicular data types and formats.
8 Since its first publication in 2019, more than 200 enterprises have accessed the TR 68. The TR provides guidance to industry players in their development and deployment of AV solutions and helps to build up Singapore’s AV ecosystem which includes startups, SMEs and Testing, Inspection and Certification service providers.
