Autonomous driving demands functional safety

Experts will be answering questions on challenges and practical experience at the Forum for Functional Safety Revision of the ISO 26262 standard on November 21 and 22, in Osnabrück, Germany.

An autonomous driving car overlooks a pedestrian, is unresponsive, and stops right in the face, all of which spell out an accident - a nightmare for every manufacturer. Such cases have already happened in the USA, which is one of the reasons why autonomous driving in Germany has been allowed to a very limited extent so far. In order to change this and set artificially intelligent vehicles safely in motion onto the roads, countless experts from large corporations and automotive suppliers are working continuously on improving the technology. Functional safety (FuSi) plays a key role in this matter as it enables the entire product system to be subjected to a holistic analysis as early as possible in the development phase - starting from the concept phase through system, hardware and software development and production to service.

Functional safety is based on the assumption that every machine in virtually every industry represents a more or less significant risk for operators and the environment. It serves to ensure an acceptable risk for these systems in the event of hazards and malfunctions and is therefore indispensable in automotive engineering. Not exclusively in that particular area though. Demand is also seen to be increasing in medical technology, chemistry and mechanical engineering. The challenges of risk minimisation are increasing in all industries thanks to increasing complexity and networking: For companies as well as for developers, who want to sell products in specific markets and guarantee product safety - or for manufacturers, if they have to adhere to guidelines or recommendations.

An additional challenge for autonomous driving in Germany and Europe is ISO 26262. It describes the requirements for the entire product life cycle of safety-relevant electrical and electronic systems for road vehicles, which today comprise of a large number of complex systems. The guideline sets new standards in the automotive sector, since it implements multi-part requirements and guidelines for functional safety. It ensures that electrical and electronic automotive components are manufactured with a higher degree of safety. Those who implement the high standard can expect a competitive advantage, because consequent application of ISO 26262 can minimise the risk of errors within the entire product.

Functional Safety Forum on November 21 and 22, 2018 in Osnabrück


What challenges do the developers face on concrete terms? How can they implement the standard in practice? And what will be particularly important in the future with regard to artificial intelligence behind the wheel?

Answers to these and many other questions can be found at the Functional Safety Forum of DIETZ Consultants on November 21 and 22, 2018 in Osnabrück. Following the motto "Revision of ISO 26262 - Functional Safety in Times of Autonomous Driving", industry insiders and independent experts such as Dr. Marco Schlummer(Institut für Qualitäts- und Zuverlässigkeitsmanagement GmbH), Stefan Kriso(Robert Bosch GmbH Bosch Center of Competence Functional Safety), Jörg Hermes(Hermes Sicherheits- & Qualitätsmanagement) and Prof. Dr. Daniel Goldbach(FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences) will cover various aspects of the topic. As we deal with autonomous and networked driving, we also exploitnew approaches such as activities in China, the differences between competence management and training and responsibility of engineering practice and safety philosophy as dictated by our daily schedule.

As an expert in risk management and FMEA, Winfried Dietz (DIETZ Consultants) will play both - host and moderator. In addition, Gregor Heilmaier (Heilmaier und Heilmaier GmbH), another designated expert from the DIETZ Consultants network, will present a lecture on "Fast, flexible, agile - a breeding ground for faulty behaviour".