Introduction to Automated Vehicle Safety: Functional Safety, SOTIF, and Cybersecurity Hazards

Fatal accidents involving automated vehicles (AVs) have made it clear that safety is paramount to their acceptance, testing, verification, validation, and deployment. In fact, safety has been ranked as the number one concern for the acceptance and adoption of automated vehicles, and understandably so, since safety has some of the most complex requirements in the development of such vehicles. However, there are many misconceptions involving safety and the concept of safety as applied to automated vehicles.

This two-day course will help characterize the nature of safety and the fundamental technology involved in the design, development, testing, operation, and deployment of automated vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The course will enable participants to envision a future where the safety of automated vehicles is well understood and will guide all stakeholders in the development and use of safe automated vehicles. You’ll learn the main attributes of safety as applied to automated vehicles, including the four types of safety: Functional Safety, Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF), Multi-agent safety, and safety involved in cybersecurity attacks. The discussion will enable participants to conceive of the various applicable design aspects of safety, clarify the role of SOTIF, multi-agent safety, and cybersecurity safety and address the development of multi-agent safety using a probabilistic and stochastic framework.

Participants should bring a laptop computer for five, in-class exercises designed to ensure application and retention. Learners will complete the exercises during class and will get assistance and feedback from the instructor.