Scenario-Based Accelerated Testing for SOTIF in Autonomous Driving: A Review

Lei Tang, Ruijie Wang, Zhanwen Liu, Yunji Liang, Yuanyuan Niu, Wei Zhu, Zongtao Duan

Abstract: The development of intelligent driving systems has drawn significant attention to enhancing the safety of autonomous vehicles and their intended functionality. Despite this, current accelerated testing approaches remain inadequate in assessing system reliability, as they fail to simulate scenarios involving collisions between vehicles and pedestrians and identify unknown risks. To address these limitations, scenario-based testing methods have been proposed, which seek to identify critical scenarios with a high frequency of exposure to safety risks. A comprehensive review of these methods is thus of paramount significance. In this article, we provide a timely and systematic literature review of existing accelerated testing for autonomous vehicles. We propose a taxonomy of these methods, discuss each subfield, and highlight open problems and future directions. Our objective is to provide a clear and concise overview of the state of the art in this field and to offer insights into the effectiveness of scenario-based testing approaches. By doing so, we aim to facilitate the identification of critical scenarios and the assessment of risk exposure frequencies, which are essential for enhancing the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles.