How Can Simulation-based Safety Testing Help Understand the Real-World Safety of Autonomous Driving Systems?

Authors

  • Fauzia Khan Dept. of Computer Science, University of Tartu
  • Laima Dalbina Dept. of Computer Science, University of Tartu
  • Hina Anwar Dept. of Computer Science, University of Tartu
  • Dietmar Pfahl Dept. of Computer Science, University of Tartu

Keywords:

Autonomous Driving System (ADS), Human Driven Vehicle (HDV), Safety Testing, Scenario Generation, CARLA Simulator

Abstract

An Automated Driving System (ADS) requires exhaustive safety testing before receiving a road permit. Moreover, it is not clear what exactly constitutes sufficient safety for an ADS. One would assume that an ADS is safe enough if it is at least as safe as a Human Driven Vehicle (HDV). However, evaluating the safety of an ADS by comparing its behavior with that of a typical HDV in the real world is costly and risky. In this paper, we give an overview of our approach to compare the performance of ADS with HDV. While the overall approach is still in progress and ongoing, we provide a detailed approach utilizing established guidelines to systematically generate test scenarios specifically aimed at safety testing. Using our approach, various scenarios could be generated and tested, contributing to autonomous vehicles’ trustworthiness.

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Published

2023-09-11