Open source and automotive safety critical systems: What are the tradeoffs?
As discussed in “Linux Beat IBM IBM, Will Open-Source Software Beat Waymo And Tesla TSLA,” the power of open source systems to crowd-source innovation across a community has been demonstrated with a whole host of IT applications such as linux, wordpress, and others. In the area of autonomous vehicles, “Will A Small Open-Source Effort From Japan Disrupt The Autonomous Space ?” outlined a fledgling open-source effort in Japan called Autoware. One of the most interesting comments from the Autoware team was the ongoing challenges of maintaining a coherent software system while dealing with a variety of contributors. Maintaining a coherent software system is very important for safety-critical applications. Further, in “Is Automotive CyberSecurity a National DefenseIssue ?” we discuss the potential of autonomous vehicles to not only cause issues for the safety of the driver, but the potential for an advisory to turn fleets of vehicles into robots of mass destruction. Thus, the stakes become even higher.