SPEAKER INTERVIEW: Mircea Gradu, VP of Vehicle Engineering, Karma/Chair of FISITA Board

Why It Matters

Regulators are shifting from checklist compliance to dynamic safety cases, meaning companies that cannot prove data‑driven safety will be barred from market entry, reshaping investment priorities across the autonomous‑vehicle ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

• UNECE adopted safety‑case draft regulation for ADS in Feb 2026
• Platform validates controllers across simulation, X‑in‑the‑loop, and 25 live intersections
• Infrastructure‑mounted lidar provides city‑wide VRU protection independent of vehicle sensors
• Energy‑efficient controller cuts energy use by ~36% while improving safety
• V2I and smart infrastructure will become mandatory for autonomous deployment

Pulse Analysis

The autonomous‑vehicle landscape is undergoing a regulatory overhaul. In February 2026 UNECE released a draft global rule that replaces static checklists with a safety‑case approach, while the U.S. Department of Transportation introduced its Autonomous Vehicle Audit Framework. This shift forces manufacturers and software providers to adopt continuous, data‑driven safety arguments rather than ticking boxes, accelerating the need for transparent validation processes that can survive scrutiny from both regulators and city officials.

Gradu’s platform tackles the validation gap by chaining three rigorously linked stages: high‑fidelity simulation, hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing at Argonne National Lab, and live trials across 25 public intersections in Orange County. The methodology delivered a 38.4% energy reduction in simulation and a near‑identical 36.1% cut in real‑world tests, proving that controller configurations screened in software can be trusted on the road. A standout feature is the deployment of intersection‑mounted lidar with edge AI, generating privacy‑preserving VRU safety heatmaps that protect pedestrians and cyclists regardless of the vehicle’s onboard sensors.

The broader implication for the industry is clear: infrastructure intelligence will become a non‑negotiable prerequisite for autonomous deployment. Cities are demanding V2I communication standards, and the UNECE safety‑case draft explicitly references smart infrastructure as a compliance element. Companies that invest early in scalable, sensor‑rich intersections and integrate energy‑efficient control strategies will gain a competitive edge, while those that remain vehicle‑centric risk obsolescence as regulators and municipalities converge on a unified, infrastructure‑first safety paradigm.