Operational design domain (ODD) is a term for a particular operating context for an automated system, often used in the field of autonomous vehicles. The context is defined by a set of conditions, including environmental, geographical, time of day, and other conditions. For vehicles, traffic and roadway characteristics are included. Manufacturers use ODD to indicate where/how their product operates safely. A given system may operate differently according to the immediate ODD.[1]
The concept presumes that automated systems have limitations.[2] Relating system function to the ODD it supports is important for developers and regulators to establish and communicate safe operating conditions. Systems should operate within those limitations. Some systems recognize the ODD and modify their behavior accordingly. For example, an autonomous car might recognize that traffic is heavy and disable its automated lane change feature. [2]
^ abErz, Jannis; Schütt, Barbara; Braun, Thilo; Guissouma, Houssem; Sax, Eric (April 2022). "Towards an Ontology That Reconciles the Operational Design Domain, Scenario-based Testing, and Automated Vehicle Architectures". 2022 IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon). pp. 1–8. doi:10.1109/SysCon53536.2022.9773840. ISBN978-1-6654-3992-3. S2CID248850678.