One main feature of the SET Level simulation is its flexibility. Tool components can be combined and extended to fit various needs. Three examples are described in detail elsewhere (Talk "Simulation Use Cases in SET Level" in Session 1, Booths B2-1, B2-2, and B2-3). Three additional use cases for simulation are described, here, to further illustrate the potential of the SET Level approach. They concern advanced applications of simulation, contributing to pool of methods useful for developing a safety-critical system like a highly automated vehicle.
The first application concerns the discovery of traffic scenarios which might turn out to be critical for the automated car to be developed. It combines two simulation tools: One which generates a broad range of scenarios, and a second, which analyzes sub-scenarios closely to identify potentially critical instances.
The second application addresses a later development stage: Most (or all) of the design has been done, and a rather good model of the automated vehicle is available. Then, a procedure is defined which estimates the risk associated with the automation in a set of scenarios.
The third usage of simulation applies to monitoring the safety of the automation in real traffic after deployment. Incidents in the field are resimulated - not only accidents, but also scenarios which could have resulted in critical situations if things had developed slightly different. By varying the behavior of the other traffic participants, a comprehensive assessment of the observed can be achieved.
All these use cases for simulation, and many more, may be implemented on the basis of the SET Level developments. This is enabled by the modularity of the architecture of the simulation: Additional functionality may be provided by plugins, and a tool instance able to perform the task at hand by configuring the necessary components. Though the examples shown at the booth have not been fully realized yet, they illustrate the potential of simulation components following the architectural principals defined by the project.
