Driver assistance systems often save the lives of travelers or pedestrians. They detect imminent danger, warn the driver and, if necessary, automatically apply the vehicle’s brakes to avoid an accident or slow down in the event of a collision.
Before assistance systems and other safety features can be used in production vehicles, they must go through a lot of testing to prove their effectiveness. Testing requires not only a high degree of efficiency, but also repeatability. For example, tests conducted by Euro NCAP cover about 100 different emergency braking scenarios under different circumstances.
Different traffic scenarios
Various driving situations, such as the sudden appearance of a pedestrian, cyclist or other vehicle on the road, must be tested during tests to confirm the correct automatic response of the system. Scenarios during testing involve different speeds and angles at which collisions can occur. After passing the tests, the car receives the appropriate certificate, which guarantees the operability and efficiency of the system.
Collision avoidance system
The emergency brake test involves the vehicle approaching a simulated pedestrian. A test driver sits behind the wheel, but a robot controls the car. The vehicle is positioned in the direction of impact with the dummy, and the emergency braking system is designed to avoid impact. The interaction between the car and the pedestrian must be exactly 5 centimeters, and the entire procedure is controlled by a GPS system. According to Skoda engineers, it can take up to six weeks to test all scenarios for a single security system. Tests should also be performed at night, for example under artificial lighting.
Cameras and radar sensors
Radar and camera signals are used to control the emergency braking system. This applies when the vehicle is approaching from behind a stationary or slow moving vehicle. The car is able to apply the brakes when the speed difference between the cars is up to about 60 kilometers per hour.
Not only braking, but also evasive maneuver
Another way to avoid a collision is to use an evasive maneuver. If the driver makes a steering movement with the steering wheel, the system will assess the current situation around, and then stop the action or support the driver in it. At the same time, it will protect the car from a possible exit from the road.
lane assistant
In such situations, vehicle mechanisms use data from sensors, as well as other systems - including Lane Assist. The system is equipped with a camera to detect white and yellow lines and shoulder edges of different heights or surfaces, such as asphalt gravel, asphalt grass, curbs, concrete barriers or cones. Lane Keeping Assist operates at speeds above 65 km/h.
“Lane Keeping Assist is not active at low speeds and does not work on tight curves with a lateral acceleration of 3 m/s or more. In addition, the system recognizes the actions of the driver by the movements of the steering wheel, but a person still has to drive the car.” explains Ondrej, a member of the Skoda Auto team.
When the driver turns on the turn signal, the system may mislead the system.
The system determines the distance between the vehicle and the lane boundary. Based on this, it estimates how fast the car is approaching it and adjusts the steering accordingly. However, on gentler curves, the system allows the driver to drive as close as possible to the inside edge of the curve. The technology also does not interfere with the use of turn signals (unless the vehicle is detected in the driver’s blind spot).
If the driver does not respond, the system may stop the vehicle.
Smart sensors and other vehicle functions are also used by the Emergency Assist system. It can stop the car if it detects that the driver is inactive. However, it first uses a series of warnings. First, a warning horn and a message on the display are heard, followed by a sharp application of the brake to wake the driver. If it still does not take active control of the steering wheel, the car triggers additional stages of warning - for example, with a horn.
The system will prepare the car and the driver for a collision
If the driver remains inactive, the vehicle prepares for an impact by raising the windows to a height of 55 mm, closing the sunroof and pretensioning the seat belts. Then the car turns on the emergency gang, beeps, stops and turns on the interior lights. If the driver does not respond, emergency services are automatically called after 15 seconds. Skoda engineers explain that Lane Assist or Travel Assist must be activated in advance for Emergency Assist to work. In the case of the first, the procedure starts after two deviations from the route, and in the case of the second, after 25 seconds of inactivity.
Continuous improvement of system performance
The programmers responsible for creating an auxiliary system are faced with the task of not only improving its functionality, but also designing additional functions based on existing ones. For example, the new Superb will be equipped with an improved driver fatigue detection system, and the rest of the brand’s models will receive a new cornering assistant.
Drive your car remotely
A new area of work for experts is also the cybersecurity of cars, based on the EU / UNECE regulation. These requirements are designed to ensure that supporting systems work reliably and make it difficult or impossible for hackers to gain control over them.
Source: Wprost
I am Jason Root. I work in the news website industry and mostly cover the automobile industry. I have also written for Daily News Hack. My work revolves around new car models, prices, and features. In addition, I often write about used cars and tips for buying them. My articles are meant to be helpful for those who are in the market for a new or used car.
