Focus on Safety applications in cooperative systems
To enable the step to the next level of road safety, an integrated approach is needed to implement new Information and Communication technologies (ICT) and thus merge co‑operation between the driver, vehicle and infrastructure. These co-operative systems intend to deliver valuable information regarding the surrounding traffic situation to the driver and provide additional, direct support in complex and difficult driving environments.
In the future, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) should interface with in-vehicle safety systems in order to exchange information and reinforce operational strategies for the optimisation of safety.
Several actions are needed and different requirements have to be addressed to ensure progress: Apart from the essential technical development required, the reliability of the chain of information capture and processing, and the standardisation of data, interfaces and procedures (including their detailed evaluation) need to be investigated. Furthermore implementation and validation depend on the development of tools such as numerical modelling and naturalistic driving studies.
Furthermore a new set of challenges should be taken into account such as the implementation and penetration of co-operative systems into the market and the integration of safety aspects of alternatively-powered vehicles.
Connecting independent driver assistance systems into an integrated co‑operative system
The increasing concentration of traffic in more complex driving environments makes it necessary to provide the driver with only essential information and offer assistance in difficult situations.
For passenger cars, the long term research objective remains the promotion of safe and efficient driving by providing functions where the driver is still in the loop.
For commercial vehicles, research is required regarding safe convoying concepts and platooning, including all necessary standardisation issues as a next step towards advanced driver-assisted driving. On highways, platooning concepts for heavy duty vehicles can reduce the risk of accidents in specific situations, while offering additional benefits in terms of lower aerodynamic resistance which enables fuel consumption and CO2-emissions to be reduced. Within the urban context, especially in delivery zones, on light commercial vehicles advanced driver-assisting systems can increase the safety of other vulnerable road users by supporting the driver in very complex traffic situations, including the automatic detection of pedestrians and obstacles in the path of the vehicle.
These systems will provide a high-level of support for the driving tasks, essentially offering recommendations to the driver who will continue to maintain full responsibility and over-riding control of the vehicle, particularly as concerns steering, acceleration and deceleration.
Fail-safe co‑operative systems
Co‑operative systems are designed to improve both safety and traffic efficiency. For future generations of such solutions, exploiting the potential for driving intervention under the control of the driver, total reliability will also be indispensable. However, since those co‑operative systems will not be introduced into the market in the near future, the need to make them fail-safe can be regarded as a longer-term objective.
Reliability of sensors and data acquisition through the entire chain
Research is required to ensure the reliability of sensors and data throughout the entire data processing chain, the ultimate objective being to achieve standardised and quantitative validation of sensor and communication data.
Sensor data fusion and information processing in co‑operative systems
As large amounts of information are collected through co‑operative systems and different sensors of the vehicle, one key objective is to enhance the description of the surrounding environment on the basis of distributed and flexible sensor networks. Particularly of relevance is the identifications of road surfaces, visibility and traffic conditions.
Another key objective is the combination and processing of information from different sensors and co‑operative systems in order to facilitate its presentation and usability by drivers through safe and ergonomic Human Machine Interface (HMI) integration.
Accident prevention and collision mitigation in co‑operative safety-systems
Research is required in the fields of integrated braking and steering for collision mitigation or potentially avoidance (including avoidance of pedestrian collision) and integration of all actions from driver warning to system-initiated intervention, the aim being improved safety while increasing vehicle design freedom.
 |
|
Graphic: The implementation of ICT-technologies will provide a higher level of |
Driver feedback for safe, clean and efficient driving
The challenge consists in defining and combining the relevant driving and driver parameters in order to adapt feed-back to all driving conditions. The amount of feedback and information given to the driver will depend on the traffic and environment conditions. All data that is delivered from internal and external sources to the vehicle needs to be assessed in terms of immediate necessity for the driver, integrated and processed. The feedback will be adapted to the driver in real time, whereas information will be provided to improve the driving style successively when the trip has been completed. The aim of driver feedback is to improve the safety and efficiency, hence reducing CO2 emissions.
Preparation for standardisation of information, data-protocols, interfaces and evaluation
Currently the standardisation of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication is the topic of considerable interest and activity in Europe. Through efforts in the Car-2-Car Communication Consortium and European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), a range of aspects are being addressed: frequency band usage, ITS architecture, data protocols, robust channel access methods, data security, etc. Standardisation in these areas will pave the way for the successful launch of future co‑operative systems, and EUCAR will continue to contribute to this important effort by participating in the activities of relevant Working Groups, in addition to supporting those members active in standardisation forums.
The aim is to develop a reliable and secure exchange of information through standardisation of open and semiopen application platforms. The need for robust interfacing of services offered by external service providers will lead to new research topics developed on the basis of results from previous and ongoing projects in this area (Global System Telematics, Co‑operative Vehicle-Infrastructure Systems etc.). Moreover, for the development of advanced co-operative safety systems, it is vital that evaluations use a standard basis. Correspondingly, appropriate evaluation criteria need to be identified and validated which in turn requires further development of testing and simulation methods.
Development and standardisation of computer modelling
The research efforts to develop and standardise human body modelling must continue to completion, being of fundamental importance for the development and standardisation of advanced protection systems by enhancing computer simulation for virtual crash-tests.
From the perspective of integrated safety, research is particularly needed in terms of driver behaviour modelling.
Moreover, the effort to develop simulation tools including macroscopic and microscopic aspects will enable the a-priori validation of potential benefits offered by Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Today different elements are already available, but the interfaces require further development. These tools will enable time to be saved while serving to integrate the contributions of the different stakeholders involved including
- academia (focusing, for example, on driver modelling),
- public authorities (involved in societal impact
- assessments),
- vehicle manufacturers and
- suppliers (defining system specifications),
- and those concerned with the maintenance and upgrading of these simulation tools.
Data-collection to assist crash avoidance
A lack of detailed information still exists regarding the pre-collision phase of accidents which is required for the development of primary safety systems. Only limited information derived from reconstruction of accidents and event data recorders is available, and the processes and factors that have an influence on the change from a normal driving situation to a critical situation remain largely unknown. Correspondingly naturalistic driving studies are needed to deliver the necessary data in order to fill this knowledge gap.
