Robotics and Autonomous System Safety - COM00164M
Related modules
This module addresses how current Safety Critical Systems Engineering and assurance practice will need to be amended to address the emergence of autonomous systems and the increasing use of AI. In this respect all the other SCSE modules are relevant background.
Additional information:
We assume that students undertaking this module have an understanding of current safety critical engineering practice.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 2 2025-26 |
Module aims
In this module, we will address the safety of autonomous systems (AS) and artificial intelligence (AI), including:
- Systems engineering of AS and safety assurance of AS challenges and solutions
- Use of AI and safety assurance of AI challenges and solutions
- Socio-technical issues around responsible innovation and ethics, responsibility, human factors and competency
We will discuss state of the art guidance on regulation and risk acceptance, and provide a framework for creating an appropriate AS safety case.
Module learning outcomes
- Identify and describe the disruptors - technical, engineering and social - to existing system safety engineering practices generated by autonomous systems.
- Describe and evaluate the implications for and changes required in safety assessment and assurance practices to accommodate autonomous systems and associated emerging technologies.
- Consistently and clearly communicate concepts and issues relating to autonomous systems engineering and safety.
- Identify the societal and regulatory impact of autonomous systems and implications for risk acceptance in a range of safety-critical domains.
- Demonstrate how to provide a compelling safety case for autonomous systems.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Reassessment of the open assessment is by resubmission.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Feedback on the summative assessment (individual open assessment) will be given in writing by the module tutor after the assessment, within the University's usual timescales.
Indicative reading
- Topol, Eric. Deep medicine: how artificial intelligence can make healthcare human again. Hachette UK, 2019.
- Habli, Ibrahim, et al. "The BIG Argument for AI Safety Cases." arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.11705 (2025).
- Hawkins, Richard, et al. "Guidance on the safety assurance of autonomous systems in complex environments (sace)." arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.00853 (2022).
- Hawkins, Richard, et al. "Guidance on the assurance of machine learning in autonomous systems (AMLAS)." arXiv preprint arXiv:2102.01564 (2021).
- Porter, Zoe, et al. "A principles-based ethics assurance argument pattern for AI and autonomous systems." AI and Ethics 4.2 (2024): 593-616.5. McDermid, John, et al. "AI GUARDRAILS: CONCEPTS, MODELS AND METHODS."