[SystemSafety] What Tesla says about its autopilot

[Andy Ashworth]

    	Having worked in the auto-industry, on software and hardware, I fear that there are a number of industry-wide approaches that are not supportive of a general improvement to functional safety.
1. The automotive industry focuses on component cost... software is not a traditional component nd does not lend itself to this cost-model. I heard some engineers opine that “software is free” - this was some time ago, admittedly!
2. Historically, a car is a collection of mechanical components that has only limited instances of emergent properties arising from integration (suspension systems being a notable expample of such a mechanical system). Many traditional engineers work in this “component-space” and do not consider functional safety. 
3. Senior management is the level from which change needs to be driven... if senior management are from a component-based cost-driven background, getting their buy-in will be difficult. 
4. Disruptors such as Tesla could be beneficial in the adoption of revolutionary methods. Does anyone want to persuade Elon Musk to consider a risk-based, systems-engineering approach that optimizes safety at a functional level?
Cheers
Andy Ashworth 
    	

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  From: Peter Bernard Ladkin <ladkin at causalis.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 4, 2018 08:05
To: Andy Ashworth; The System Safety List
Cc: Haworth, David
Subject: Re: [SystemSafety] What Tesla says about its autopilot 

On 2018-12-04 13:49 , Andy Ashworth wrote:
> Hardware by itself will not assure safety (crash protection and restraint, yes, but functional
> safety no). Equally, software in isolation is no guarantee of safety. 
I would have said (in response to David) that most people think of "hardware" as the kit that does
the job (whatever job that may be) and if it is digital-electronic then software is part of it. It
is only people like us who distinguish.

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Bielefeld, Germany
MoreInCommon
Je suis Charlie
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs-bi.de





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