Since ABS started in the Mercedes-Benz S-class (W116) in 1978, but mainly by the introduction of ESP® in 1995 in the Mercedes-Benz S-class (W140), Active Safety of passenger cars has been affected by combination of chassis parameters and wheel-brake based systems. Since ESP® has a significant impact on vehicle stability; the evaluation of Active Safety has to be performed in combination with ESP®. Therefore objective tests have been developed to assess the combination of chassis and ESP®. A huge number of tests are used during the development and application of ESP® Systems to vehicle platforms.
Many accident investigations showed an outstanding benefit of ESP® for Active Safety. This raised the interest in objective test methods to assess ESP® performance and finally leads to NHTSA’s recently published notice of proposed rulemaking for safety standards for ESP®.
This paper will demonstrate various objective tests and measures for ESP® evaluation. This article will illustrate objective criteria by means of ESP® sub-functions and several operating points (e.g. different speed, lateral acceleration, steering input). The objective behavior of ESP® on high μ will be discussed as well as special demands on low μ.