33. The Chair of GRVA introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/57, with the proposal for the second iteration of the New Assessment / Test Method (NATM) – Master Document. He also introduced ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/58 amended by WP.29-187-08, a proposal for the NATM guideline for the validation of ADS. He presented WP.29-187-10, including the Guidelines and Recommendations concerning Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems. He presented ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/60, with the proposal for recommendations on uniform provisions concerning cyber security and software updates suitable for the purpose of the contracting parties to the 1958 and 1998 Agreements.

34. WP.29 congratulated GRVA for these achievements and endorsed the documents ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/57, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/58 as amended by WP.29-187-08 ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/60 and WP-187-10. The Chair requested the secretariat to issue document WP-187-10 with an official symbol for the next WP.29 session.

16. The expert from Canada, Co-Chair of the IWG on Validation Methods for Automated Driving (VMAD), briefed GRVA on the progress made by the group (GRVA-13-38). He informed GRVA on the nomination of a new VMAD Co-Chair and expressed gratitude to Mr. T. Onoda, the former Co-Chair from Japan. He detailed the status of the VMAD work and deliverables. He reported on the collaboration between FRAV and VMAD and on the Co-Chairs’ proposal for the next steps of the group.

17. GRVA reviewed GRVA-13-35 (New Assessment/Test Method for Automated Driving (NATM) Guidelines for Validating Automated Driving System (ADS) in ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/58). The expert from Canada explained that final updates to the document would be needed and discussed a potential process in order to include last minute modifications. GRVA noted that delegations would try to accommodate last minute modifications to allow a voting during the WP.29 session in June 2022.

18. GRVA endorsed in principle GRVA-13-35 and requested the secretariat to submit GRVA-13-35 (and subsequent editorial corrections, if available) to WP.29 for endorsement at its June 2022 session.

19. GRVA discussed the potential future activities of the group and agreed that the group would finalize its current tasks during the first 12 months of the mandate.

20. GRVA requested the Chair and the Secretary to draft an amendment proposal to the FDAV, detailing the envisaged milestones of VMAD for the extended mandate including a preview for the time beyond.

21. GRVA agreed to request AC.2 and WP.29 at their June 2022 sessions to extend the mandate of the IWG on VMAD until June 2024.

22. GRVA reconfirmed the document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2022/57 without modification for consideration and endorsement at the June 2022 session of WP.29.

16. GRVA received the status report (GRVA-12- 30) from the expert from the Netherlands, Co-Chair of the IWG on VMAD, highlighting the work done on guidelines for the New Assessment/Test Method (NATM), as required by the Framework Document on Automated Vehicles. He described the open issues addressed by the subgroups and the collaboration activities with the IWG on FRAV.

17. He explained that the group convened three times since September 2021 and that the four subgroups met 20 times, in total. He detailed that the second iteration of the master document on NATM grew from 46 pages to 103 pages.

18. GRVA acknowledged that the master document prepared by the IWG on VMAD contained information about the pillars of the new assessment test method and went beyond guidelines. GRVA noted that the IWG on VMAD would develop a second document containing guidelines as there was the need to separate recommendations from the descriptive information.

19. The expert from OICA highlighted the importance of the work done by the group and its subgroups. He inquired whether the task of the subgroup 2 was about pass/fail criteria or about information sharing.

20. The expert from China mentioned the different pillars that composed the NATM. He asked how to apply them and how to ensure that the combination of the four pillars was sufficient. The expert from Canada, Co-Chair of the IWG, referred to Chapter 4 titled “Applying a Multi-pillar Approach to the NATM”.

21. The expert from Sweden inquired whether some activities, in parallel to the development of the VMAD guidelines, would be performed under the framework of the 1958 Agreement and if yes, when. The Chair responded that no Contracting Party to the 1958 Agreement had requested to start regulatory activity at this stage.

22. The expert from the Netherlands highlighted the open question regarding the inclusion (or exclusion) of provisions for the user manual concerning misleading names or names given to systems that imply a different performance of the system than the real one.

23. The expert from ETSC referred to his comment under item 4(a) and pointed at Annex IV, item 1.

24. GRVA requested the secretariat to submit GRVA-12-12 to WP.29 for information (in March 2022) and for consideration and vote at its June 2022 session, subject to final review by GRVA at its May 2022 session.