Validating

 a  Lane  Change  

Mo#va#on:    
to  control  and  minimize  the  higher  risks  associated  with  the  development  of  
self  driving  cars,  which  are  specifically  designed  to  interact  with  humans  on  
public  roads  
 Documentation  of  Validating  a  Lane  Change  

•  Safety  prac<ces  are  becoming  more  regulated  as  industries  adopt  a  standardized  
set  of  prac<ces  for  designing  and  tes<ng  products.  ISO  26262  addresses  the  needs  
for  an  automo<ve-­‐specific  interna<onal  standard  that  focuses  on  safety  cri<cal  
components.    
•  Valida<ng  a  lane  change  starts  very  early  in  the  design  process  with  assigning  and  
documen<ng  an  Automo<ve  Safety  Integrity  Level  (ASIL),  the  key  component  of  
the  ISO  26262,  to  the  lane  change  func<onality  of  the  vehicle  model  
 Documentation  of  Validating  a  Lane  Change  
•  Hardware  components  are  typically  qualified  by  tes<ng  the  part  in  a  variety  of  environmental  and  
opera<onal  condi<ons.  The  test  results  are  then  analyzed  with  various  numerical  methods  and  
presented  in  a  qualifica<on  report  along  with  the  tes<ng  procedure,  assump<ons,  and  input  
criteria.    

•  Qualifying  so6ware  components  involves  ac<vi<es  such  as  defining  func<onal  requirements,  
resource  usage,  and  predic<ng  soJware  behavior  in  failure  and  overload  situa<ons.    

•  Test  tool  qualifica#on  is  the  extensive  process  to  document  the  acceptable  results  of  the  test  tool  
considering  the  limita<ons  built  into  the  test  tool.  Results  are  rela<ve  to  how  the  results  apply  to  
real  world  driving  tests.  A  test  tool  used  for  self-­‐driving  cars  is  a  simulated  world  were  human  
designed  scenarios  can  be  run  through  all  or  parts  of  the  vehicle  model.  

•  “Proven  in  Use”  argument  is  simplified  documenta<on  to  ra<onalize  skipping  the  extensive  risk  
analysis  at  the  beginning  of  the  valida<on  process.  
 Validating  a  Lane  Change  with  Simulation  Tools  
•  Unit  tests  examine  the  performance  of  individual  features  or  sub-­‐features  of  the  whole  vehicle  
model.  Results  from  these  tests  are  the  least  applicable  how  the  vehicle  model  might  perform  in  
the  real  world.  

•  Situa#on-­‐based  open-­‐loop  tests  examine  the  performance  of  a  limited  number  of  interrelated  
features  of  the  vehicle  model.  The  scenario  is  well  defined  and  actors  in  the  simula<on  react  to  the  
vehicle  model  in  a  well  defined  manner.  These  tests  can  be  iterated  numerous  <mes  while  
expec<ng  similarly  comparable  results.    

•  Scenario-­‐based  closed-­‐loop  tests  examine  the  performance  of  the  whole  vehicle  model  in  
response  to  a  full  suite  of  simulated  sensor  inputs  that  mimic  the  interplay  of  individual  actors’  
expected  behaviors  over  <me.  The  limita<ons  built  into  this  tool  are  the  expected  behaviors  
programmed  into  individual  actors  which  makes  it  difficult  to  simulate  all  possible  edge  case  
outcomes  from  a  single  scenario.    
Validating  a  Lane  Change  with  Simulation  Tools  
 Validating  a  Lane  Change  with  Functional  Practice  

•  Results  from  closed  track  tests  are  easiest  to  quan<fy  where  most  variables  are    
controlled.  These  tests  are  most  relevant  to  the  test  tool  and  simula<on  results,  
but  do  not  best  indicate  how  the  vehicle  model  will  behave  in  all  scenarios.  

•  Controlled  variable  tests  on  public  roads  are  limited  to  the  subjec<ve  judgment  of  
a  trained  expert  witnessing  the  vehicle  model  feature  being  tested.  While  very  few  
variables  are  actually  controlled  in  these  tests,  the  real  world  contains  so  many  
interrelated  situa<ons,  that  effec<vely  determining  acceptance  of  a  vehicle  model  
feature  must  be  rela<ve  to  the  reac<on  of  human  actors  in  real  life  scenarios.  Key  
to  determining  the  public’s  acceptance  of  a  vehicle  model  feature  is  the  
observa<on  by  a  highly  empathe<c  expert  whose  goals  and  values  are  to  
document  whether  an  interac<on  was  both  safe  and  effec<vely  courteous  
considering  the  most  relevant  aspects  of  the  scenario.  
Validating  a  Lane  Change  
 Resources  Referenced  
•  What  is  the  ISO  26262  Func<onal  Safety  
Standard?  -­‐  Na<onal  Instruments,  
hVp://www.ni.com/white-­‐paper/13647/en/  
•  Automated  Driving;  Safer  and  More  Efficient  
Future  Driving,  2017,  Chapter  19  
Tes<ng  and  Valida<ng  Tac<cal  Lane  Change  
Behavior  Planning  for  Automated  Driving