Software Architecture for Reducing Testing Effort while Ensuring Safety in Autonomous Road Vehicles

Abstract

This study proposes a software architecture which separates safety constraints from functionality within the context of decision making in autonomous road vehicles. The intention of the separation is to avoid having to recertify safety requirements when updating functionality. The scope is limited to only solving problems which exist as a result of separating safety constraints and functionality. A literature review was done in order to identify common software architectural patterns used in connection with safety in autonomous road vehicles. The patterns were used to design a general architecture which was evaluated through application in an industrial case. The resulting system is divided into a decision component and a safety component. The decision component is responsible for passenger comfort and for reaching the desired destination. The safety component is responsible for ensuring safety and has the power to override any action proposed by the decision component. A prototype was implemented and showed promising results. While the proposed architecture does not necessarily make the initial development easier the benefits are realized later in the life cycle through faster and cheaper verification of new functionality.