Safety of Perception Systems for Automated Driving: A Case Study on Apollo

The automotive industry is now known for its software-intensive and safety-critical nature. The industry is on a path to the holy grail of completely automating driving, starting from relatively simple operational areas like highways. One of the most challenging, evolving, and essential parts of automated driving is the software that enables understanding of surroundings and the vehicle’s own as well as surrounding objects’ relative position, otherwise known as the perception system. Current generation perception systems are formed by a combination of traditional software and machine learning-related software. With automated driving systems transitioning from research to production, it is imperative to assess their safety.

We assess the safety of Apollo, the most popular open-source automotive software, at the design level for its use on a Dutch highway. We identified 58 safety requirements, 38 of which are found to be fulfilled at the design level. We observe that all requirements relating to traditional software are fulfilled, while most requirements specific to machine learning systems are not. This study unveils issues that need immediate attention; and directions for future research to make automated driving safe.