FMECA Analysis on Driverless System for a Formula Student Vehicle

Reliability in driverless vehicles is critical for ensuring safety and operational availability across various conditions without human involvement. Design flaws or major failures during operation can lead to significant risks to passengers, pedestrians, and other vehicles. This work presents a risk analysis of the driverless system of the Firenze Race Team (FRT)'s Formula Student vehicle using the Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) methodology. The study focuses on key electronic and electrical components, including steering and brake actuators, the vision system, the onboard computer, the electronic control unit, and the power supply system. For each identified failure mode, potential causes and effects were analyzed to assess their criticality. Based on this assessment, targeted countermeasures were developed and integrated into the vehicle to enhance reliability and safety. The implementation of diagnostic and safety mechanisms has resulted in improved fault detection and mitigation, increasing the overall robustness of the driverless system.