The Safety Assurance of autonomous systems in Complex Environments (SACE)

What is SACE?

Safety assurance of autonomous systems requires that we consider the whole autonomous system and its environment. Our SACE guidance considers overall system-level assurance activities, defining a safety process and corresponding safety case patterns.

Why use SACE?

Autonomous systems do not operate in isolation - they are part of complex environments. SACE is the only freely available guidance which takes into account both factors and enables the creation of a compelling and detailed safety case. 

Our guidance: 

• Enables engineers and assessors to take a holistic view of the safety of an autonomous system within its environment.
• Is written in a style and format that is easy to pick up and use by a range of stakeholders.
• Works in conjunction with our AMLAS framework to create a comprehensive and compelling safety case for the autonomous system as a whole.

Who should use SACE?

Safety engineers

To understand what must be done to provide the required assurance of the safety of an autonomous system operating in a complex environment and create a safety case for that system.

System engineers and developers

To understand the safety assurance considerations and activities when developing an autonomous system and generate the artefacts required to support the safety case.

Reviewers and safety assessors

To understand what should be the focus of the review, and the criteria by which the sufficiency of the assurance activities and artefacts should be judged.