AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB

Their core work

Autoliv is a major automotive safety systems developer headquartered in Sweden, specializing in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), occupant protection, and the human-machine interface challenges that arise as vehicles become increasingly automated. Their H2020 work focuses on understanding driver behavior — impairment, drowsiness, inattention — and designing adaptive systems that keep both drivers and passengers safe. They bring deep expertise in crash safety, biomechanical modeling, and the critical handoff between human and automated driving control.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), Autoliv concentrated on understanding the human side of driving safety — detecting driver impairment, drowsiness, and stress through adaptive ADAS, alongside exploring flexible sensor technologies like pyroelectric sensors on plastic foil. From 2018 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward automated driving challenges: virtual crash assessment with advanced human body models, intelligent transition-of-control systems, and large-scale field testing of autonomous vehicles. The trajectory shows a company moving from "monitoring the driver" to "managing the driver-automation partnership."

Autoliv is investing heavily in the safety infrastructure for autonomous vehicles — expect future work on AI-driven occupant protection, virtual testing frameworks, and human-automation shared control.

How they like to work

Autoliv participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never coordinating — consistent with a large industrial company contributing domain expertise and real-world validation rather than managing research agendas. With 140 unique partners across 16 countries and 9 projects, they work in large, diverse consortia typical of automotive safety research. Their broad partner network suggests they are a sought-after industry partner who brings credibility and testing infrastructure to EU transport safety projects.

Autoliv has collaborated with 140 unique partners across 16 countries, forming one of the denser networks among automotive safety companies in H2020. Their reach spans most of Western and Northern Europe, with strong connections across the EU transport research ecosystem.

What sets them apart

Autoliv bridges the gap between traditional crash safety engineering and the emerging world of automated driving — very few organizations combine deep biomechanical crash modeling expertise with AI-driven driver monitoring and human-automation interaction research. As a global Tier 1 automotive supplier, they bring production-scale manufacturing reality to research consortia, ensuring that project outcomes can actually reach vehicles on the road. Their sensor technology work (PYCSEL, PRESTIGE) also gives them unusual cross-domain capability in flexible electronics for safety applications.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MEDIATOR
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 507,812) and most comprehensive scope — integrating AI, shared control, and multi-modal interfaces for human-automation mediation.
• OSCCAR
  Addresses the fundamental question of how to protect occupants in automated vehicles where seating positions and crash dynamics are completely different from conventional cars.
• L3Pilot
  One of Europe's flagship automated driving pilots — large-scale field operational tests of Level 3 automation on public roads across multiple countries.