OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2012. Panasonic Corporation today announced that its software development processes have been certified for ISO 26262[1], a functional safety[2] standard for road vehicles, by TUV SUD in Germany, a third-party certification authority. Panasonic's automotive equipment and device software development processes have been recognized as compliant with up to the highest Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL-D) defined in ISO 26262. To obtain the certification, Panasonic collaborated with Toshiba Corporation and Witz Corporation, and all three companies were granted with certificates around the same time.

Recently, there has been a growing need in the global market for automotive safety performance. In order to ensure safety of automobiles, it is important for not only automobile manufacturers but also for component manufacturers to achieve their own safety goals.

ISO 26262 specifies the requirements for safety-related systems, hardware, and software. The certification by TUV SUD demonstrates that Panasonic's software development processes comply with these safety requirements and that the company can reliably implement the processes. This means that software which is developed using these software development processes meets the functional safety requirements of ISO 26262.

Panasonic has enhanced the development of environmentally friendly, secure, and safe automobile equipment and devices in an environment where the importance of electronic equipment is increasing in the automotive industry. Having obtained ISO 26262 software development process certification, the company will endeavor to manufacture safer products and contribute to the creation of a secure, safe, environmentally friendly, convenient, and comfortable automobile society.
Notes:
[1] ISO 26262 is an international functional safety standard, published on November 15, 2011, for electrical and electronic systems within road vehicles. In the standard, four levels (ASIL A through ASIL D) are defined for the Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL).
[2] Functional safety is safety that is achieved by functions of electrical and electronic systems such as microcomputer. For example, fault detection, safety halt control, and user warning are the functions.