CMU Collaborates with Latitude AI: Using Large Language Models to Solve Autonomous Driving Regulatory Compliance Challenges

A master's team from Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business collaborated with Ford-owned Latitude AI to develop a large language model prototype for L2-level ADAS, aiming to convert complex autonomous driving regulations into actionable behavioral requirements and address the pain points of traditional manual compliance processes, which are time-consuming and error-prone.

L2-level ADAS has been widely adopted, but global multi-level regulations are evolving rapidly and are complex in content (e.g., U.S. federal and state regulations, EU GDPR, etc.). Traditional compliance relies on manual interpretation, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to understanding deviations. The industry needs to build an efficient bridge between technology and regulations.

The CMU MSBA team collaborated with Latitude AI (Ford's autonomous driving subsidiary established in 2021). Students provided AI perspectives, while the enterprise provided scenario data, with the goal of verifying the feasibility of LLMs in regulatory compliance conversion.

The prototype adopts a dual-mode architecture:

Academic Mode

Processes PDF academic/technical documents and extracts key technical requirements and indicators;

Regulatory Mode

Optimized for TXT regulatory texts, improving the accuracy of legal language understanding through prompt engineering and fine-tuning. The two modes share underlying capabilities but have differentiated input and output strategies.

Converts ambiguous regulatory expressions (e.g., "appropriately remind the driver to take over") into testable indicators:

• Scenario conditions triggering take-over
• Priority and methods of reminder signals
• Driver response time thresholds
• System degradation logic Improves compliance efficiency and reduces the risk of understanding deviations.

The project is a demonstrative exploration of AI in the field of autonomous driving compliance. Future directions include:

1. Multilingual regulatory support
2. Real-time regulatory tracking
3. Closed-loop compliance verification
4. Human-machine collaboration interface

The collaboration demonstrates interdisciplinary innovation (business analytics + autonomous driving + LLM + legal technology), providing ADAS enterprises with ideas for using AI to address regulatory challenges.