Aitor Fernández
He founded AEVAC to promote autonomous mobility in Spain and to build bridges across the sector. He is blind: accessibility is the association's reason for being.
About us
We are AEVAC
Since 2017 we have brought the users' point of view to autonomous and connected mobility.
Why AEVAC exists
Aitor Fernández
President and co-founder
David Pérez Fidalgo
Vice president and co-founder
AEVAC's president and co-founder, Aitor Fernández, is blind. For him, autonomous mobility means gaining freedom. That is why he founded the association.
is AEVAC's reason for being.
A market study was carried out in 2016. In 2017 the association was officially founded, with the support of the Spanish traffic authority (DGT), the State Reference Centre for Personal Autonomy and Technical Aids (CEAPAT), Telefónica and Mobileye. Aitor Fernández and David Pérez Fidalgo, president and vice president, are its co-founders.
What we have done since 2017
2018 to 2022: 5G-MOBIX
In November 2018 we joined the -MOBIX as partners. A consortium is a group of organisations that carry out a project together. 5G-MOBIX was a European project under the Horizon 2020 programme. The consortium tested connected and over 5G mobile networks, including across borders, as on the corridor between Vigo and Porto.
There we were the neutral party, with no commercial interests. We worked on business models and on network analysis. We contributed to the final report on European Union policy and regulatory recommendations that closed the project: 17 recommendations for policymakers and 19 for regulators, so that an can cross borders. We raised a key question: whether the network dedicated to automated driving complies with European open internet rules on both sides of the border. See the project page.
Text description of the diagram
- At the top, a band stating that the European open internet rules are the same in both countries.
- Below, two boxes: the regulator of country A and the regulator of country B. Each decides on its own.
- In the centre, a road crosses the border, marked with a dashed line. An autonomous car is on it.
- The car connects to each country's antenna in two ways: a lane dedicated to automated driving, with no internet access, and the normal internet connection.
- In country A, the dedicated lane is shown as allowed. In country B, it is shown with a question: allowed?
2021: the roadmap
In 2021 we published a roadmap on and legislation for autonomous vehicles in Spain. We analysed more than 2,000 rules and standards from five regions: Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. We selected 350.
To choose the most relevant projects in the world we used two criteria. The first is the level of autonomy, according to the SAE scale (the society of automotive engineers that defines six levels, from 0 to 5). The second is the maturity level of the trials, measured in (technology readiness level, a scale that goes up to 9).
Text description of the levels of autonomy and deployment
Levels of autonomy:
- Level 0: no automation (at most, some audible warnings).
- Level 1: driver assistance.
- Level 2: partial automation.
- Level 3: conditional automation of part of the driving task.
- Level 4: high driving automation.
- Level 5: full driving automation.
Levels of deployment, from least to most mature:
- Tests, TRL 5 to 6: in a controlled environment.
- Trials, TRL 6 to 7: on public roads with safety drivers.
- Limited deployment, TRL 7 to 8: tests on public roads without safety drivers, with specialised user groups.
- In operation, TRL 9: a fully operational service on public roads without a safety driver.
We then drew up a standardisation map. We defined six critical technology areas of the connected autonomous vehicle and six groups of and end users of those standards. First, the standardisation within each technology area is described, and then its application to each group.
Text description of the standardisation map
A car sits in the centre. Around it, in the inner ring, are the six technology areas:
- Safety, assurance and protection.
- Perception, decision-making and .
- Data.
- Security.
- Digital infrastructure.
- Human factors.
In the stakeholder column, are the six groups of actors:
- Legal and regulators.
- Developers.
- Test beds.
- Users and the public.
- Road authorities.
- Insurers.
2022 to 2025: SELFY
That roadmap opened the door to SELFY, a European project on the of the . In June 2022 we joined the consortium as partners.
In SELFY, the roadmap was the basis for identifying cybersecurity and accessibility standards. We led the standardisation and social sciences task: surveys, critical standards and workshops with the FAME and CONNECT projects. SELFY ended in May 2025.
SHOW and DIAMOND, as external advisers
In two other European projects we were external advisers. In DIAMOND, from 2018 to 2022, we worked on the roadmap of the needs of a person with a disability when using a service in an autonomous vehicle, at every stage. In SHOW, from 2020 to 2024, we contributed the point of view of users and of accessibility.
Source: 5G-MOBIX: 825496, 5G-MOBIX on CORDIS; SELFY: CORDIS 101069748, SELFY on CORDIS; SHOW; DIAMOND
Mission and vision
Our mission is for autonomous mobility to be developed and adopted in a way that guarantees the independence of everyone.
We want public administrations and companies to build together an autonomous transport network that anyone can use. We think above all of those for whom mobility is out of reach today, such as many people with disabilities.
And we want autonomy and connectivity to also help improve infrastructure and the environment.
Values
- Talent. We look for people who bring experience and judgement to the association.
- Transparency. We explain our work and share the sources that document it.
- Knowledge. We follow technological and management advances and market opportunities.
- Lasting relationships. We maintain links between organisations so they can collaborate over time.
In numbers
- 2017year the association was founded
- 2,000+standards analysed in the 2021 roadmap, of which 350 were selected
- 4European projects: partners in 5G-MOBIX and SELFY, advisers in SHOW and DIAMOND
- ≈10people work with the core leadership team
Team
Our team includes people from different technology sectors.
Board of directors
David Pérez Fidalgo
More than 25 years in automotive and (objects connected to the internet): electrification, connectivity and autonomy. Founding member of the GENIVI Alliance (2013).
Advisory committee
- José Pacheco. Mobility investor and entrepreneur, co-founder of B4Motion.
- Marco Laucelli. Expert in digital products and infrastructure.
- Francisco Sánchez. Expert in intelligent transport systems and in connected and autonomous vehicles.
- Pedro López Estepa. Expert in the electric, autonomous and connected vehicle sector.
- Sebastián Canadell. Consultant to mobility companies on developing investment and understanding changes and solutions.
- Guillermo Rius. Expert in technology and in developing human capabilities.
- Iván García
- Álvaro Ramis
Network of experts
Behind AEVAC there is an international network of professionals in Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States: executives of mobility and autonomous driving companies and technical specialists who have followed every development of the autonomous vehicle since 2017. A core leadership team coordinates, and around ten experts are brought in according to each project.
- Technology and software
- Business and market
- Deployment and operation
- Regulation and standards
- User experience
- Accessibility
Governance
AEVAC is a non-profit association registered in the National Register of Associations, number 614559. It is run by its board of directors, with the support of an advisory committee.
Who we work with
We collaborate with companies, universities, technology centres, public administrations and institutions. Each relationship is documented, with its source, on the Ecosystem page. We have also taken part in working groups of the World Economic Forum, the OECD and the ITU, and of the DGT in Spain. We took part in ISO committees in the past, without being formal members.
European projects and consortia
Our track record
- 2017. AEVAC is founded.
- 5G-MOBIX. Consortium partners. From 1 November 2018 to 30 September 2022.
- DIAMOND. External advisers. From 1 November 2018 to 31 January 2022.
- SHOW. External advisers. From 1 January 2020 to 30 September 2024.
- 2021. We publish the roadmap on standardisation and legislation for autonomous vehicles in Spain.
- SELFY. Consortium partners. From 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2025.