Monitoring Operational Design Domain Compliance in Intelligent Vehicles

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving functions are becoming integral to modern vehicles. Ensuring their safety and reliability requires validating their operation within well-defined Operational Design Domains (ODD). Monitoring ODD compliance is crucial to determine when these functions can operate safely. This paper presents a systematic approach to ODD monitoring using a formalized, machine-readable ODD description and fuzzy logic. The method evaluates compliance and provides explanations for non-compliance. The approach introduces a two-level hierarchical ODD representation, a membership score quantifying compliance, and an explanation mechanism for identifying the primary factors contributing to non-compliance. The monitoring results are integrated into a Conditional Activation Control System (CACS), which governs function activation based on ODD compliance. The proposed system was implemented within a production vehicle and validated using real-world data, demonstrating its feasibility for deployment. By enabling clear, real-time assessments of ODD adherence, this approach supports safer and more reliable automated driving, promoting user confidence and regulatory compliance.