Page 23 - Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (January 2020)
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Standards/Testing
The Key to AV Safety
is ODD
by Bradley Berman
Truly safe automated driving depends on defining the
exhaustive list of overlapping conditions, use cases, restrictions
and scenarios an AV might encounter.
In a perfect world, an automated vehicle (AV) would to this point, nobody has an adequate answer. Safety
be all-knowing. Its sensors, communication systems standards and metrics have not yet been established.
and computing power could predict every road hazard The world’s leading roboticists are scratching their
and avoid all risks. But until a wholly omniscient self- heads. Regulators are largely perplexed. Until there’s
driving vehicle is a reality, there will be one burning an answer to this almost abstract question, the great
question for AV developers and regulators – and the promise of AVs to reduce accidents and save lives, free
public: How safe is safe enough? up our time and democratize mobility will remain
Despite about $100 billion of investment in AVs beyond our grasp.
Edge Case Research
Hologram, a simulation tool created by Edge Case Research, identifies Operational Design Domain (ODD) risks that are
difficult to find with other types of testing.
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING January 2020 21
