1Continental Safety Engineering International GmbH, Germany
The development of new forward looking sensor generations has created new possibilities in enhancing vehicle safety. The capabilities of forward looking sensors have been systematically extended from the recognition of well defined objects such as road signs to the identification and classification of other vehicles. New generations of forward looking sensors are now also able to detect pedestrians in different road traffic conditions.
Using these new sensors the car can be equipped with predictive protections systems. In predictive protection systems the sensor provides information on objects such as pedestrians to the vehicle, so that the vehicle can react by warning the driver, reducing speed or even braking or steering. Predictive pedestrian protection systems can thereby help to further improve the level of vehicle safety on the roads, especially with regards to vulnerable road users.
During the development of the related sensors and vehicle functions such as advanced autonomous emergency brake systems (AEB) it is key to have appropriate testing tools which help to validate the sensors and the safety functions of the vehicle. Different working groups especially in Europe have focused on the definition of system testing of AEB systems. Test scenarios have been derived from accident statistics and general design rules for the testing methods, test rigs and test methods have been established.
Continental has developed a testing environment which allows a qualified testing of different predictive pedestrian protection systems. Based on a description of relevant test scenarios this paper refers to the tool chain required for testing of these protection systems. This testing environment consists of the following main elements:
The paper discusses the usability of the described tool chain with regards to relevant test scenarios. A special focus is put on a new transponder based technology for the localization of vehicles and test objects. This technology has been developed by Continental as a result of the German research initiative Ko-TAG and applies a trilateration technique between transponders in the infrastructure and transponders attached to the moving objects to measure the precise position. Being less bulky than conventional localization systems, the transponder based localization can provide a localization quality which is similar to sophisticated DGPS systems. Moreover, due to its independence from satellite signals it can be applied on any test track and any test scenario, independent from the local signal quality of nearby satellites.