Research topics

The aim of the Institute of System Engineering for Future Mobility is to develop methods and tools for safeguarding the trustworthiness of safety-critical systems. To this end, we are working on these topics:

Scenario-based Verification and Validation of automated and autonomous Systems

Automated and autonomous transport systems should not only make travel more comfortable, but also safer. To make this a reality and bring automated and autonomous transport systems to market, it is therefore very important to ensure their safe operation. This is not an easy task, as not only the systems themselves are highly complex, but also the input they receive (the environment). In order to verify and validate them, we must therefore not only develop them safely, but also test them extensively.

Continuous Timing Assurance

Ensuring timing properties is a crucial aspect in the design of safety-critical systems. For example, safe operation of highly automated vehicles includes the ability to react on detected obstacles in a specified maximal time span. Our asset “Continuous Timing Assurance” provides methods and tools that enable the specification, verification, and monitoring of timing properties along the system’s lifecycle: From specification, implementation, and test in the development phase, to monitoring, diagnosis, and feedback to the developers in the operation phase.

Modular online update and upgrades for safety-criticality systems

Safety-critical systems face an increase in critical software functions that require high-performance hardware platforms. Due to increasing software complexity and platform connectivity, Over-The-Air Software Updates (OTASU) become necessary for modern embedded systems as updates and feature enhancements, safety and security fixes, or adaptations to other components become inevitable during their lifetime. The application of OTASU in the safety-critical domain is not free of challenges.

Maritime Traffic Simulation

More and larger ships are sailing the world's oceans, and more and more industries are claiming and using them. Highly automated and, in some cases, remotely controlled or even autonomous ships will therefore help to increase the safety and sustainability of shipping in the future.