TY - JOUR A1 - Maier, Robert A1 - Grabinger, Lisa A1 - Urlhart, David A1 - Mottok, Jürgen T1 - Causal Models to Support Scenario-Based Testing of ADAS JF - IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems N2 - In modern vehicles, system complexity and technical capabilities are constantly growing. As a result, manufacturers and regulators are both increasingly challenged to ensure the reliability, safety, and intended behavior of these systems. With current methodologies, it is difficult to address the various interactions between vehicle components and environmental factors. However, model-based engineering offers a solution by allowing to abstract reality and enhancing communication among engineers and stakeholders. Applying this method requires a model format that is machine-processable, human-understandable, and mathematically sound. In addition, the model format needs to support probabilistic reasoning to account for incomplete data and knowledge about a problem domain. We propose structural causal models as a suitable framework for addressing these demands. In this article, we show how to combine data from different sources into an inferable causal model for an advanced driver-assistance system. We then consider the developed causal model for scenario-based testing to illustrate how a model-based approach can improve industrial system development processes. We conclude this paper by discussing the ongoing challenges to our approach and provide pointers for future work. KW - automated driving systems KW - Automation KW - Bayesian networks KW - Causal inference KW - Data models KW - ISO Standards KW - model-based testing KW - Safety KW - Task analysis KW - Testing KW - Vehicles Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2023.3317475 SN - 1524-9050 SP - 1 EP - 17 PB - IEEE ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Maier, Robert A1 - Grabinger, Lisa A1 - Urlhart, David A1 - Mottok, Jürgen ED - Seguin, Christel ED - Zeller, Marc ED - Prosvirnova, Tatiana T1 - Towards Causal Model-Based Engineering in Automotive System Safety T2 - Model-Based Safety and Assessment, 8th International Symposium, IMBSA 2022: Munich, Germany, September 5–7, 2022, Proceedings N2 - Engineering is based on the understanding of causes and effects. Thus, causality should also guide the safety assessment of complex systems such as autonomous driving cars. To ensure the safety of the intended functionality of these systems, normative regulations like ISO 21448 recommend scenario-based testing. An important task here is to identify critical scenarios, so-called edge and corner cases. Data-driven approaches to this task (e.g. based on machine learning) cannot adequately address a constantly changing operational design domain. Model-based approaches offer a remedy – they allow including different sources of knowledge (e.g. data, human experts) into safety considerations. With this paper, we outline a novel approach for ensuring automotive system safety. We propose to use structural causal models as a probabilistic modelling language to combine knowledge about an open-context environment from different sources. Based on these models, we investigate parameter configurations that are candidates for critical scenarios. In this paper, we first discuss some aspects of scenario-based testing. We then provide an informal introduction to causal models and relate their development lifecycle to the established V-model. Finally, we outline a generic workflow for using causal models to identify critical scenarios and highlight some challenges that arise in the process. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15842-1_9 SP - 116 EP - 129 PB - Springer Nature CY - Cham ER -