Speakers & Chairmen

After studying computer science and business administration, Mr Burckhardt was the owner of an engineering office for software development and automation of industrial applications. Since 1998 he has held various positions at the DEKRA Technology Center. In 2009, Mr Burckhardt took over responsibility for the development of the DEKRA test site and its services. With DEKRA's takeover of the Lausitzring in 2018, Mr Burckhardt is now responsible for the "DEKRA Lausitzring" test site for automated and connected driving. One of his main tasks is the automation and digitisation of the proving ground. The aim is to be able to reproduce the safeguarding of complex, highly automated driving functions reproducibly and efficiently on the test site.

Udo Steininger is Chief Expert Automotive Safety at TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH. He has been involved in the safety of complex human-machine systems for over 35 years. After studying physics at the Technical University of Dresden, he worked for 5 years in reactor safety research. Since 1991, he has been working at TÜV SÜD on the topics of risk, reliability and safety in various fields of application - first in industry, then in railroads and, for the last 20 years, in the field of motor vehicles. For the past 15 years, he has specialized in assisted and automated driving. Initially, the focus of his work was on safety assessment during development, testing of vehicles and vehicle systems, and safety driver training. He currently supports manufacturers, suppliers and mobility service providers in the market introduction of systems for automated driving and related services. He is active in the DIN Automotive Standards Committee (ISO 26262 and ISO 21448) and is a member of the Safety - Methods and Processes - Advisory Board of the VDI Society for Vehicle and Transport Technology (FVT). Udo Steininger was a lecturer at the Munich University of Applied Sciences for many years and is a guest lecturer at the Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich. His column on the current status and development of automated driving appears regularly in carhs' SafetyNews.