Functional Safety of Camera Monitor Systems

Although the main concern of developers of Camera Monitor Systems (CMS) is usually about meeting the legal requirements and image quality demands, one should not forget that CMS are electronic systems with the potential to endanger vehicle safety, and therefore subject to a Functional Safety process according to the worldwide standard ISO 26262. Functional Safety is the discipline that systematically discusses hazards arising from malfunction of electronic or software-controlled systems in order to derive measures how to prevent or mitigate them. This chapter explains what hazards could arise in the context of CMS and how they are systematically investigated, and what follows during the remaining development process activities from Functional Safety point of view. Although the ISO 26262 standard is a quite complex work, consisting of 10 parts, this chapter invites the reader to take a tour to the most important cornerstones of the safety process, such as Item Definition, Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment, Functional and Technical Safety Concept, Safety Analysis, and finally the Functional Safety aspects of design and verification activities. Although an exhaustive discussion of all facets of Functional Safety is not possible on a few pages, it is important to know what activities in general need to be planned for a CMS development project, and where expert consultancy is needed. The chapter ends with an outlook of potential extensions of CMS in the future, when they may become part of more advanced assistance and warning features.