Before a self-driving car hits public roads it must pass two ISO standards most drivers never hear about — but that decide whether it’s safe enough to trust with your family.
ISO 26262: No Faults Allowed
Covers hardware/software faults (“what if a chip fails?”). Uses ASIL levels A (low) to D (critical — 10 FIT). Every sensor, ECU and line of code gets hazard analysis, redundancy and 1,000+ test cases.
SOTIF (ISO 21448): What If It Works as Designed Yet Fails?
Handles performance limits in sunny design: sun glare blinding camera, phantom braking from shadow. SOTIF requires validation of 10B+ simulated miles to prove “unknown unsafe scenarios” < 10⁻⁸ per hour.
Why It Matters
UNECE and NHTSA now require SOTIF evidence for approval. Consumers can ask: “What ASIL is your AV?” — like crash stars but for software.