PUBLICATIONS
Framework Documentation & White Papers
Foundational documentation for the ODDC conformance framework, ENVELO assurance architecture, and CAT-72 assessment methodology — and the policy case for independent autonomous system conformance assessment.
Informative — White Papers
When Self-Certification Fails
A landmark aviation automation failure illustrates the structural risks of delegated self-certification in safety-critical systems. Drawing on Congressional investigation and DOJ proceedings, this paper analyzes the self-self-certification failure and introduces ODDC as the independent conformance framework designed to address it.
Contents
- Executive Summary
- 1. Anatomy of a Self-Certification Failure
- 2. The Autonomous Parallel
- 3. ODDC: The Structural Solution
- 4. The Regulatory Case for Independent Conformance
- 5. Conclusion: Before, Not After
- References
Insurance Considerations in Autonomous System Underwriting
Implications for autonomous system underwriting and the role of independent conformance data. Examines the underwriting blind spot, analyzes Swiss Re actuarial data and the Waymo-Swiss Re study covering 25.3 million autonomous miles.
Process Attestation vs. Behavioral Attestation
Why existing AI governance frameworks verify management systems, not runtime behavior. Framework-by-framework analysis of ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF, the EU AI Act, SOC 2, and sector-specific standards.
The Accountability Chain
How ODDC resolves multi-party liability in autonomous system incidents. Analyzes five landmark cases across autonomous vehicles and healthcare AI litigation.
Cross-Domain Analysis of Autonomous System Deployment Absent Behavioral Verification Standards
Cross-domain analysis of autonomous deployment without behavioral verification. Covers autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, healthcare AI, data centers, energy grid, aviation, defense, construction, logistics, and oil and gas.
ODDC Regulatory Mapping
How ODDC maps to existing and emerging regulatory frameworks for autonomous system oversight. Covers NHTSA, Transport Canada, EU AI Act, UNECE WP.29, ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF, and ASTM F3269. Includes jurisdictional readiness assessment and adoption pathways.
Program Governance
Governance & Independence Statement
Structural separation between the ODDC standard and the certifying body. Covers auditor independence, conflict-of-interest policy, non-conformance and appeals process, telemetry provenance responsibility, and explicit exclusions.
Normative — Standard
ODDC Standard Specification
The authoritative specification for the ODD Conformance Determination program. Defines the formal standard, conformance requirements, assurance architecture, and conformance framework governing all ODDC determinations.
ODDC Conformance Guide
Comprehensive specification governing Operational Design Domain Conformance determination, including scope definitions, conformance gate requirements, evaluation criteria, and registry procedures.
Normative — Procedures
CAT-72 Procedure
Cumulative assurance verification procedure. Defines assurance exposure requirements, telemetry integrity standards, audit chain preservation, and conformance determination criteria across active operational intervals.
ENVELO Interlock Requirements
Technical requirements for the Enforced Non-Violable Execution-Limit Override interlock. Covers deployment architecture, telemetry signing, hash-chain integrity, and minimum runtime assurance thresholds.
Informative — Guides
ODDC Overview
Executive-level introduction to the ODDC conformance framework. Covers the five conformance gates, determination process, and registry architecture.
ODDC Conformance Scenarios
Representative conformance scenarios across operational sectors including autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, healthcare systems, and critical infrastructure.
Informative — Reference
Sample ODDC Certificate
Representative certificate of conformance illustrating the format, fields, and integrity verification structure of an issued ODDC determination.
Foundational Research & Related Standards
ODDC operates within an established body of research on runtime assurance verification for autonomous systems. The following references represent foundational standards, NASA research, and academic work in the domain.
ASTM F3269-21 — Standard Practice for Methods to Safely Bound Behavior of Aircraft Systems Containing Complex Functions Using Run-Time Assurance
The published industry standard for runtime assurance architecture. Defines the Simplex RTA pattern for bounding behavior of systems containing complex or unverifiable functions. Originally developed for UAS, now expanding to manned aviation and Advanced Air Mobility.
BSI PAS 1883:2020 — Operational Design Domain (ODD) Taxonomy for an Automated Driving System
The first published ODD taxonomy standard. Provides a structured vocabulary and classification framework for describing the conditions under which an automated driving system is designed to operate.
A Verification Framework for Runtime Assurance of Autonomous UAS
Formal verification of the Simplex RTA framework applied to unmanned aircraft operations. Demonstrates verification of systems with untrusted black-box components using the PVS theorem prover and hybrid program formalization.
A Formal Verification Framework for Runtime Assurance
Formalizes the Simplex RTA framework in the language of hybrid programs using the PVS theorem prover. Enables formal verification of runtime assurance systems while treating untrusted AI/ML controllers as black boxes.
The Black-Box Simplex Architecture for Runtime Assurance of Autonomous CPS
Proves safety of runtime assurance architecture with untrusted advanced and baseline controllers. Demonstrated on multi-robot coordination and F-16 collision avoidance with neural network controllers.
Monitoring Operational Design Domain Compliance in Intelligent Vehicles
Production-vehicle implementation of real-time ODD monitoring using formalized machine-readable domain descriptions and fuzzy logic membership scoring. Validated with data from an instrumented production vehicle.
VeriODD: From YAML to SMT-LIB — Automating Verification of Operational Design Domains
Automates translation of ODD and Current Operational Domain specifications from stakeholder-accessible YAML into solver-ready SMT-LIB format. Integrates with Z3 for automated consistency checks and runtime conformance verification.