Towards a Common Understanding of Operational Domain and Operational Design Domain in the Approval Process of Automated Vehicles

Kurzfassung

The development and deployment of automated vehicles rely heavily on a rigorous approval process that ensures their safe operation on public roads. A critical component of this process is the definition and evaluation of the Operational Design Domain (ODD), which specifies the conditions under which an Automated Driving System (ADS) is designed to operate. However, a complementary concept, the Operational Domain (OD) which refers to a specific geographic area and actual operating conditions, remains poorly defined and integrated into the approval process. The lack of standardization in OD definition and taxonomy creates ambiguity, overlaps, and gaps in research and industry hindering scalable approval processes. This paper examines the limitations of existing ODD taxonomies and highlights the need for a comprehensive OD taxonomy to facilitate seamless approval processes and the safe operation of automated vehicles. The proposed approach to a standardized OD description is based on the 6-layer model for describing traffic scenarios and calls for targeted extraction of relevant information from existing data like digital maps. The approach aims to enable local authorities to prepare for the future operation of autonomous vehicles by digitizing their operational area and enabling the scaling of ADS-operated vehicles.