Kettering University Computer Engineering faculty member Dr. Juan Pimentel is editing a collection of five books through SAE International.

The book collection, “The Safety of Automated Vehicles,” will be published in early 2019. Each will feature a different area relating to the safety of automated vehicles.

“Safety has been ranked as the number one concern for the acceptance and adoption of autonomous vehicles, and understandably so since safety has some of the most complex requirements in the development of self-driving vehicles. Recent fatal accidents involving self-driving vehicles have uncovered a host of major issues in the way some automated vehicle companies approach their design, testing, verification, and validation of their products,” Pimentel said.

Each book consists of an introductory chapter, a set of edited SAE articles on the various aspects of automated vehicle safety, and an epilogue. The books are “Characterizing the Safety of Automated Vehicles,” “Automated Vehicles: Multi-Agent Safety,” “Automated Vehicles: Safety of the Intended Functionality,” “Automated Vehicles: The Role of ISO 26262,” and “Automated Vehicles: Safety of Semiconductors.”

The book collection includes already published SAE articles on the safety issues that arise when  automated vehicles interact with other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and other obstacles as they move through cities and on roads. Articles also examine safety issues that are caused by performance limitations of the perception system of automated vehicles, international safety standards, and the role of semiconductors in automated vehicle safety.

Pimentel has conducted research and taught courses about automated vehicle safety at Kettering, and he’s presented at conferences around the world, including recently in Spain and China. Pimentel also has taught a tutorial on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications using wireless technologies at an IEEE International conference in Germany.

In addition, he will conduct webinars through SAE International on the safety of automated vehicles. The first one is schedules for April 2019. He’ll also offer face-to-face professionals seminars on the same subject through SAE International.