SAFETEE - Towards a computing platform for safe autonomous systems

Autonomous systems (cars, drones, off-road vehicles, etc.) can bring tremendous advancement for people and businesses. A crucial concern for such systems is safety. While most studies today focus on reliable sensors and perception, and actuators and control, this project aims for a vertical, in-depth study of a full-stack computing platform. Starting from a systematic approach for requirements gathering for the computing platform, the project will study (1) approaches for enhanced reliable hardware under harsh environment conditions, (2) error recovery algorithms e.g. in case of bit flips, (3) a safe and secure reactive software execution platform with formally verified scheduling mechanisms and latency guarantees, and (4) on top an innovative decision making approach for autonomous systems (the ‘brain’) that verifiably guarantees safe decision making. This unique combination of interacting aspects of a safety-aware platform is highly innovative and appealing to both research and industry.

Keywords:safety, autonomous systems, safety requirements / STPA, software-induced errors, EMI resilient hardware

Disciplines:Software engineering, Embedded systems