April 30, 2026 -
ASIL metrics influence the way embedded software is designed, verified, and validated for automotive systems.
By Giordana Francesca Brescia, embedded.com
Over the past two decades, the automobile has become one of the most complex embedded systems ever built on a large scale. Electronic control units, sensors, and software govern critical functions such as braking, steering and stability control, where functional safety has become a top priority. To ensure the safe and reliable operation of vehicles, the automotive industry prioritizes safety at the design stage.
In addition, the development of partially or fully autonomous vehicles has also increased the need to address safety in a structured way. The ISO 26262 standard, published by the International Organization for Standardization, defines a methodological framework for the development of safe automotive electronic systems. At the heart of this standard is the Automotive Safety Integrity Level classification, known as ASIL, whose metrics classify the level of risk associated with a vehicle function and determine the amount of rigor required in design, verification, and validation activities.