Significant advancements have been made in autonomous vehicle technology in recent years. While we are not yet at a point where fully “self-driving” cars are on the roads for public use, it is not unreasonable to assume that — considering the rapid rate at which this technology is developing — this paradigm may not be as far away as it seems. Because of this, practical concerns like safety and security have come under increasing scrutiny in the field of autonomous vehicles.
Functional safety in autonomous vehicles
The goal of functional safety is to provide a process that ensures the risk from embedded systems developed for road vehicles is managed and reduced to ensure they are safe and do not harm people. Functional safety ISO 26262 is beyond the regular engineering and design of a product or technology.
“As a functional safety expert, I believe that ensuring the safety of autonomous vehicles goes beyond just adhering to good engineering practices,” explains Jeswanth Samayamantula, who is responsible for Functional Safety at Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems. While regular engineering practices are essential for building reliable and high-quality systems, they do not fully address the unique and complex safety challenges posed by autonomous vehicles.”
The interest in autonomous vehicles from a safety perspective is obvious. Studies from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have found that autonomous vehicles are much safer than conventional, human-driven vehicles — not to mention other benefits like potentially reducing the number of impaired drivers on the road.
Safety concerns with autonomous vehicles
That being said, as with any new technology, autonomous vehicles pose some challenges that must be addressed before they can be used to make our roads safer. For example, autonomous vehicles rely on technology like sensors and cameras. Road or weather conditions can disrupt or render these aspects inoperable, interfering with an autonomous vehicle’s ability to operate.
Furthermore, autonomous vehicles are still limited in their capabilities and require human drivers to respond in cases of malfunction or unsuitable conditions for the technology to operate. If a driver becomes too confident in the abilities of the autonomous system, their response time in the face of these circumstances could be delayed, potentially causing an incident.
Another concern many have expressed over autonomous vehicle technology is cybersecurity. If the software used to operate an autonomous vehicle has any vulnerabilities, hackers, and wrongdoers could exploit them. The consequences of this threat could be anything from stolen vehicles to acts of terror from “hijacking” self-driving cars.
Thus, the notion of functional safety and cybersecurity has become an essential consideration in developing autonomous vehicles and a fundamental step in gaining the public’s trust in this innovation.
“Autonomous vehicles operate in dynamic and unpredictable environments, making them susceptible to a wide range of potential failures and hazards,” explains Samayamantula. “Good engineering practices, such as thorough testing and documentation, provide a solid foundation, but they are not sufficient to guarantee the safety of these advanced systems.”
How ISO 26262 addresses the need for functional safety in the autonomous vehicle field
To address some of these challenges of autonomous vehicles while encouraging the responsible development of their safety features, legislators have established regulations and standards that define how the underlying technology should be developed and integrated into automotive systems. For example, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has implemented ISO 26262 to guide a functional safety development process that automotive OEMs and suppliers can follow to have their devices qualified to run inside vehicles.
In essence, ISO 26262 is designed to outline a process for managing and reducing the risks associated with electrical and electronic components — systems that are incredibly relevant in the age of autonomous vehicles. The regulation defines a safety life cycle, safety requirements, design procedures, and testing procedures that must be implemented to ensure the functional safety of a vehicle’s entire electronic and electrical system.
“This standard builds on good engineering practices but adds specific requirements for functional safety in automotive systems,” Samayamantula explains. “It helps guide rigorous safety analysis, validation, and verification processes to ensure that electronic systems in vehicles do not pose undue risks to users.”
For automotive equipment manufacturers and suppliers, compliance with regulations like ISO 26262 is the best way to avoid potential legal consequences from malfunctions of electrical/electronic equipment in automotive vehicles. Considering the novelty of autonomous vehicle technology, there is still significant debate over where the liability lies should there be an incident like a collision. If an equipment manufacturer is not in compliance with regulations like ISO 26262, it could find itself more on the hook for these consequences.
With a combination of good engineering practices and processes, as outlined by regulations like ISO 26262, developers and equipment manufacturers for autonomous vehicles can ensure that their components and products are safe and will be less likely to malfunction when they reach our roads. Then, we can reap the safety benefits of autonomous vehicles in creating safer roadways.