Simulation-Based Application of Safety of The Intended Functionality to Mitigate Foreseeable Misuse in Automated Driving Systems

2025-03-05

AI Summary

Driver foreseeable misuse (FM) of automated driving systems (ADS) poses significant safety risks, undermining SOTIF (Safety of the Intended Functionality) compliance. Method: This paper proposes a SOTIF-oriented simulation testing framework using a driving simulator. It systematically defines SOTIF simulation test requirements, evaluation criteria for FM mitigation measures, and a quantitative effectiveness assessment model. The framework establishes a closed-loop process—root-cause analysis of FM driven by human–machine interaction (HMI), simulation-based validation, and impact evaluation—integrating ISO 21448 conformance analysis, HMI behavioral modeling, and functional safety co-verification. Contribution/Results: We develop a reusable FM simulation testing procedure and a comprehensive evaluation metric system. Empirical validation in representative HMI misuse scenarios demonstrates the efficacy of proposed mitigation strategies, significantly enhancing the rigor and traceability of SOTIF compliance arguments for ADS.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Search and Optimization: Sampling/Simulation-based Search
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Simulating Human Behavior

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics

Abstract

The development of Automated Driving Systems (ADS) has the potential to revolutionise the transportation industry, but it also presents significant safety challenges. One of the key challenges is ensuring that the ADS is safe in the event of Foreseeable Misuse (FM) by the human driver. To address this challenge, a case study on simulation-based testing to mitigate FM by the driver using the driving simulator is presented. FM by the human driver refers to potential driving scenarios where the driver misinterprets the intended functionality of ADS, leading to hazardous behaviour. Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) focuses on ensuring the absence of unreasonable risk resulting from hazardous behaviours related to functional insufficiencies caused by FM and performance limitations of sensors and machine learning-based algorithms for ADS. The simulation-based application of SOTIF to mitigate FM in ADS entails determining potential misuse scenarios, conducting simulation-based testing, and evaluating the effectiveness of measures dedicated to preventing or mitigating FM. The major contribution includes defining (i) test requirements for performing simulation-based testing of a potential misuse scenario, (ii) evaluation criteria in accordance with SOTIF requirements for implementing measures dedicated to preventing or mitigating FM, and (iii) approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the measures dedicated to preventing or mitigating FM. In conclusion, an exemplary case study incorporating driver-vehicle interface and driver interactions with ADS forming the basis for understanding the factors and causes contributing to FM is investigated. Furthermore, the test procedure for evaluating the effectiveness of the measures dedicated to preventing or mitigating FM by the driver is developed in this work.

Problem

• Addressing Foreseeable Misuse in Automated Driving Systems.
• Simulation-based testing to mitigate driver misinterpretation risks.
• Evaluating measures to prevent hazardous behaviors in ADS.

Innovation

• Simulation-based testing for Foreseeable Misuse mitigation
• Safety of the Intended Functionality (SOTIF) application
• Driver-vehicle interface and interaction analysis