Measurable Safety of Automated Driving Functions in Commercial Motor Vehicles - Technological and Methodical Approaches

Fahrerassistenzsysteme sowie automatisiertes Fahren leisten einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Verbesserung der Verkehrssicherheit von Kraftfahrzeugen, insbesondere von Nutzfahrzeugen. Mit der Weiterentwicklung des automatisierten Fahrens steigt hierbei die funktionale Leistungsfähigkeit, woraus Anforderungen an neue, gesamtheitliche Erprobungskonzepte entstehen. Um die Absicherung höherer Stufen von automatisierten Fahrfunktionen zu garantieren, sind neuartige Verifikations- und Validierungsmethoden erforderlich. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, durch die Aggregation von Testergebnissen aus wissensbasierten und datengetriebenen Testplattformen den Übergang von einer quantitativen Kilometerzahl zu einer qualitativen Testabdeckung zu ermöglichen. Die adaptive Testabdeckung zielt somit auf einen Kompromiss zwischen Effizienz- und Effektivitätskriterien für die Absicherung von automatisierten Fahrfunktionen in der Produktentstehung von Nutzfahrzeugen ab. Diese Arbeit umfasst die Konzeption und Implementierung eines modularen Frameworks zur kundenorientierten Absicherung automatisierter Fahrfunktionen mit vertretbarem Aufwand. Ausgehend vom Konfliktmanagement für die Anforderungen der Teststrategie werden hochautomatisierte Testansätze entwickelt. Dementsprechend wird jeder Testansatz mit seinen jeweiligen Testzielen integriert, um die Basis eines kontextgesteuerten Testkonzepts zu realisieren. Die wesentlichen Beiträge dieser Arbeit befassen sich mit vier Schwerpunkten: * Zunächst wird ein Co-Simulationsansatz präsentiert, mit dem sich die Sensoreingänge in einem Hardware-in-the-Loop-Prüfstand mithilfe synthetischer Fahrszenarien simulieren und/ oder stimulieren lassen. Der vorgestellte Aufbau bietet einen phänomenologischen Modellierungsansatz, um einen Kompromiss zwischen der Modellgranularität und dem Rechenaufwand der Echtzeitsimulation zu erreichen. Diese Methode wird für eine modulare Integration von Simulationskomponenten, wie Verkehrssimulation und Fahrdynamik, verwendet, um relevante Phänomene in kritischen Fahrszenarien zu modellieren. * Danach wird ein Messtechnik- und Datenanalysekonzept für die weltweite Absicherung von automatisierten Fahrfunktionen vorgestellt, welches eine Skalierbarkeit zur Aufzeichnung von Fahrzeugsensor- und/ oder Umfeldsensordaten von spezifischen Fahrereignissen einerseits und permanenten Daten zur statistischen Absicherung und Softwareentwicklung andererseits erlaubt. Messdaten aus länderspezifischen Feldversuchen werden aufgezeichnet und zentral in einer Cloud-Datenbank gespeichert. * Anschließend wird ein ontologiebasierter Ansatz zur Integration einer komplementären Wissensquelle aus Feldbeobachtungen in ein Wissensmanagementsystem beschrieben. Die Gruppierung von Aufzeichnungen wird mittels einer ereignisbasierten Zeitreihenanalyse mit hierarchischer Clusterbildung und normalisierter Kreuzkorrelation realisiert. Aus dem extrahierten Cluster und seinem Parameterraum lassen sich die Eintrittswahrscheinlichkeit jedes logischen Szenarios und die Wahrscheinlichkeitsverteilungen der zugehörigen Parameter ableiten. Durch die Korrelationsanalyse von synthetischen und naturalistischen Fahrszenarien wird die anforderungsbasierte Testabdeckung adaptiv und systematisch durch ausführbare Szenario-Spezifikationen erweitert. * Schließlich wird eine prospektive Risikobewertung als invertiertes Konfidenzniveau der messbaren Sicherheit mithilfe von Sensitivitäts- und Zuverlässigkeitsanalysen durchgeführt. Der Versagensbereich kann im Parameterraum identifiziert werden, um die Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit für jedes extrahierte logische Szenario durch verschiedene Stichprobenverfahren, wie beispielsweise die Monte-Carlo-Simulation und Adaptive-Importance-Sampling, vorherzusagen. Dabei führt die geschätzte Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Sicherheitsverletzung für jedes gruppierte logische Szenario zu einer messbaren Sicherheitsvorhersage. Das vorgestellte Framework erlaubt es, die Lücke zwischen wissensbasierten und datengetriebenen Testplattformen zu schließen, um die Wissensbasis für die Abdeckung der Operational Design Domains konsequent zu erweitern. Zusammenfassend zeigen die Ergebnisse den Nutzen und die Herausforderungen des entwickelten Frameworks für messbare Sicherheit durch ein Vertrauensmaß der Risikobewertung. Dies ermöglicht eine kosteneffiziente Erweiterung der Validität der Testdomäne im gesamten Softwareentwicklungsprozess, um die erforderlichen Testabbruchkriterien zu erreichen

Measurable Safety of Automated Driving Functions in Commercial Motor Vehicles

With the further development of automated driving, the functional performance increases resulting in the need for new and comprehensive testing concepts. This doctoral work aims to enable the transition from quantitative mileage to qualitative test coverage by aggregating the results of both knowledge-based and data-driven test platforms. The validity of the test domain can be extended cost-effectively throughout the software development process to achieve meaningful test termination criteria

Measurable Safety of Automated Driving Functions in Commercial Motor Vehicles

With the further development of automated driving, the functional performance increases resulting in the need for new and comprehensive testing concepts. This doctoral work aims to enable the transition from quantitative mileage to qualitative test coverage by aggregating the results of both knowledge-based and data-driven test platforms. The validity of the test domain can be extended cost-effectively throughout the software development process to achieve meaningful test termination criteria

A Big Testing Framework for Automated Truck Driving

Long-distance commercial vehicles are predestined for automated driving due to their high performance and long monotonous routes. Automation offers the prospect of improved road safety, increased fuel efficiency, optimised vehicle utilisation, higher driver productivity and lower freight costs. Even if the widespread use of full automation is not imminent, the vision of accident-free driving accelerates the further development of driver assistance functions to autonomous vehicle stages on the global market. Thestatus quo evaluation refers to large-scale verification as one of the decisive challenges for the economical, reliable and safe use of automated driving functions in truck series development. In this scheme, the evaluation of software releases must be carried outin different phases up to the Start of Production (SoP) to provide an argument that the residual risk is below an acceptable level. In driving simulator tests, various system concepts of a truck series are first evaluated. The verification and validation strategythen performs X-in-the-Loop tests, proving grounds and long-term endurance tests. Finally, homologation meets the market-specific type-approval requirements based on the evidence collected during development. This paper summarises previous works dealingwith the large-scale verification requirements and challenges of intelligent transportation systems. The basis of large-scale verification is presented, including the verification andvalidation procedures commonly used in large-scale verification schemes. The criteria of test completion are specified for assessing the performance of automated driving functions. The quality measures are presented to achieve sufficient reliability within thesoftware quality management process. The several possible topics for future research are identified

Ionic Liquids: A Tool for Halal Food Industry

Currently, replacing volatile organic solvents with ionic liquids (ILs) in industrial applications is a matter of concern. ILs became solvents of choice due to their properties such as low melting points (<100 °C) and negligible vapor pressure. Despite being expansively investigated, ILs have not yet been intensively reviewed as eco-friendly solvents for the halal industry, which is the aim of this work. ILs have been used as surfactants, extractants for the purification of biomolecules, stabilizers for enzymes and in biosensors applications. Regardless of the lack of data on the toxicity of food products with ILs residues, low doses of ILs in in vitro tests did not lead to cell damage. Moreover, several ILs have stabilizing effects on biomolecules such as enzymes and proteins. Thus, new applications of ILs in the halal industry are possible within the concept of halalan tayyiban

Utilizing the theory of reasoned action in understanding students’ choice in selecting accounting as major

Many researchers have endeavoured to explore the factors that influence the choice of students to major in accounting. To this end, and by using the theory of reasoned action (TRA), this study contributes to the accounting education literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between selected intrinsic and extrinsic factors and the choice of students to major in accounting in a fast-developing country, Qatar. Using mixed methods for data collection and analysis; a questionnaire survey along with semi-structured interviews; the findings of the current study confirm the propositions of the TRA that student’s decision to major in accounting is shaped by attitudinal factors (personal interests, perception of accounting education including introductory course, and the perception of job prospects), as well as subjective norms factors (influence of instructor and the social influence from family and peers)

Ionic liquids as a potential solvent for lipase-catalysed reactions: a review

Ionic liquids (ILs) - as environmentally friendly “green” solvents- have been progressively used in various reactions as reagents, solvents and co-solvents including lipase-catalysed reactions. In fact, lipase-catalysed reactions in ILs are considered as a “green”-reaction and are more advantageous than chemical methods owing to the easy recovery of the product and the mild conditions of the reactions. The use of lipase in ILs provides many technological advantages compared to conventionally used solvents, such as selectivity enhancement, enzyme stability improvement, higher conversion rate, and better recyclability and recovery system. Nevertheless, in some cases, especially in hydrophilic ILs, lipase exhibits activity reduction when compared with organic solvents. Currently, various attempts have been made to enhance the performance of lipases in ILs. The main objective of this review is to demonstrate recent developments in the technology of using ILs as reaction media for lipase. It is expected that this review might be an inspiration in ILs assisted lipase-catalysed reactions to produce value-added materials including biofuels as well as biodiesel

The Effect of Audit Committee’s Characteristics on the Audit Report Timeliness: Empirical Evidence from the UK

This paper examines the association between the attributes of the audit committees (ACs) and the audit report timeliness for UK FTSE350 companies over the period 2017 to 2019. In particular, we investigate the impact of AC’s attributes, namely, independence, gender, financial expertise, activity and size; as prescribed by the UK Corporate Governance code (2018) on the audit report lag (ARL). To this end, we employ the OLS regression with robust standard errors based on 633 firm-year observations. Our results indicate that AC’s independence and meeting frequency are associated with a reduction in audit report delay. However, the results also indicate that AC’s gender, financial expertise and size do not influence the audit report timeliness. More interestingly, the UK listed companies, which issue their annual reports during the busy reporting period tend to have longer ARL. In contrast, the high audit fees are significantly associated with shorter ARL. Contrary to the propositions of the critical mass theory, additional analysis reveals that high representation of female directors in ACs would deter the financial reporting timeliness, since it is associated with longer ARL. Our results are also robust for alternate measures for ACs’ attributes of size, activity and expertise. The findings of our study highlight the importance of ACs, as an internal governance mechanism, in enhancing the timeliness and the quality of companies’ financial reporting. It accentuates the role of independent director, as well as the ACs’ meeting, in alleviating any disputes and settling any issue that might hinder the external auditors to release timelier audit report. Our findings also direct the attention of the UK regulators to the importance of providing a clearer definition of the financial expertise required by ACs’ members. In addition, our results also direct the attention of the UK companies to the importance of choosing the female directors’ members in ACs based on their qualification and expertise, rather than their mere representation to satisfy the UK CG recommendation