Efficient engineering of safety-critical, software-intensive systems

The transportation ecosystem is currently in a transition phase from non-electrified to electrified, from isolated to connected, and from non-automated to automated. During this transition new disruptive technologies replace existing ones but quickly become obsolete themselves. Safety and efficiency become even more important as the driver has less input into driving decisions and more difficult to achieve since many of these decisions rely on software technologies which are not as familiar to automotive engineers as the usual mechanical solutions. In the rush to deploy solutions with the latest technology the quality of the software can suffer. The objective of this work is to suggest changes needed in current automotive software engineering to meet the levels of quality demanded by autonomous, connected vehicles. One of the biggest changes is that vehicle and infrastructure technology needs to be developed in context. Strategic decisions concerning which technologies to integrate and the development processes to use require an understanding of the emerging markets. The development method outlined here provides an organization with guidance on using ecosystem roadmaps and a high integrity software development process to accommodate emerging technologies and ever shorter product cycles. In part this is accomplished by fitting those technologies into validated architectures and using techniques that detect defects early. The result is an environment in which safety-critical products are developed more effectively and efficiently.