TIER IV and CMU Collaborate on Level 4+ Autonomous Driving

TIER IV and Carnegie Mellon University have announced a strategic collaboration to pioneer Level 4+ autonomy in autonomous driving systems. In a press release, the partnership aims to advance scalability, explainability, and safety through a hybrid architecture that integrates data-centric AI approaches with robotics best practices.

The collaboration is part of Safety21, a U.S. Department of Transportation initiative led by CMU, where TIER IV has joined the Advisory Council. The project will focus on developing next-generation Autoware-based systems, with early deployments planned in Tokyo and Pittsburgh. This initiative will span three years, with the first year dedicated to creating a reference vehicle for real-world data collection and experimentation.

In subsequent years, the focus will shift to developing a comprehensive safety enforcement mechanism to support vehicle certification and public road approval. This mechanism will underpin the scalability, explainability, and safety necessary for the trustworthy deployment of Autoware-based systems. The collaboration marks a significant step in uniting AI and robotics to enhance autonomous driving technologies.