Ask HN: Are there any certification standards for automotive control software?

by MrDresden on 12/7/2021, 3:11 PM with 1 comments

I just read this 2013 report titled Toyota Unintended acceleration and the big bowl of "spaghetti" code from Safety Research & Strategies Inc, which has already been shared on HN before multiple times[0], and I am now wondering;

Does there exist such a thing as an independent certification of the software that modern day automobiles run on and if so is there a way for consumers to look those certifications up based on vehicle model?

The article does mention the Motor Industry Software Reliability Association (MISRA) standard that was first codified in 1995. But it would seem that at the time of the article being written that the standard was more of a guideline than actual rules.

If anything, cars have become even more reliant on the software that they use since the article was written, and I am not so certain that manufacturers have stepped up their software quality practices along side that development.

[0]: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=Toyota+unintended+acceeleration+and+the+big+bowl+of+spaghetti+code

/edit: spelling

  • by detaro on 12/7/2021, 3:14 PM

    > Does there exist such a thing as an independent certification of the software that modern day automobiles run on and if so is there a way for consumers to look those certifications up based on vehicle model?

    lol. no. Lot's of process buzzwords, some of which have some value, but nothing that you can tie to "this car has good software".