The ASDRA Assessment Framework

A structured methodology for quantifying the safety of autonomous systems.

0

Pre-Engagement Scoping

Definition of the assessment boundary, identification of the autonomous system under evaluation, its deployment context, operational design domain, and the specific learned policies in scope.

1

Environmental Readiness Assessment

Evaluation of the physical deployment environment: workspace geometry, human traffic patterns, environmental variability, and the gap between training conditions and real-world operating conditions.

2

Robot System Assessment

Assessment of the hardware platform, sensor suite, actuation limits, and safety-rated monitored stop functions. Compliance verification against applicable machinery safety standards.

3

Learned Policy Assessment

ASDRA Differentiator

The ASDRA differentiator. Independent evaluation of learned control policies through adversarial reinforcement learning testing, conformal prediction bounds on behavioural uncertainty, sim-to-real transfer validation, and stochastic rollout simulation across the operational design domain. This phase quantifies the probability and severity of policy failure modes that traditional safety assessment cannot address.

4

Task Risk Profiling

Analysis of the specific tasks the system performs, their frequency, proximity to humans, consequence severity in failure, and the exposure base for actuarial modelling.

5

Operational & Human Factors Assessment

Evaluation of human-robot interaction protocols, operator training, override mechanisms, organisational safety culture, and the adequacy of incident response procedures.

6

Risk Quantification & Actuarial Output

Synthesis of all assessment phases into quantified risk parameters: failure rates, severity distributions, confidence intervals, and exposure bases formatted for actuarial consumption.

7

Certification Decision & Monitoring Specification

The formal certification decision, issuance of the ASDRA certification mark, and definition of the continuous monitoring specification that maintains certification validity.

Assessment Deliverables

Safety Assessment Report

For the deployer's board and EHS team

Comprehensive technical report detailing findings from all assessment phases, identified risks, mitigation requirements, and the certification rationale.

Actuarial Risk Summary

For the deployer's insurer and broker

Quantified risk parameters in actuarial format: frequency estimates, severity distributions, confidence bounds, and exposure bases for underwriting.

Monitoring Specification

For ongoing certification validity

The telemetry requirements, re-assessment triggers, and continuous monitoring criteria that keep the ASDRA certification mark current.

Standards Alignment

The ASDRA assessment methodology is designed in alignment with the following international standards and frameworks:

ISO 10218-1/2 ISO 13482 ISO 3691-4 UL 3300 ISO/TS 15066 ISO/TR 23482 NIST AI RMF ISO/IEC 42001