Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BRAVE (BRidging gaps for the adoption of Automated VEhicles)

Teaser

New technologies in transport enabled systems with the capacity to improve safety, efficiency, sustainability and comfort. Advances in vehicle automation allow the circulation of vehicles with a minimal human intervention in the near future. However, this irruption brings new...

Summary

New technologies in transport enabled systems with the capacity to improve safety, efficiency, sustainability and comfort. Advances in vehicle automation allow the circulation of vehicles with a minimal human intervention in the near future. However, this irruption brings new technical and non-technical challenges that are to be addressed to ensure safe adoption of level 3 automated vehicles.

Based on existing prototypes of automated vehicles (provided by the consortium), will perform multidisciplinary research to ensure the needs of the users (drivers), other road users (other drivers and Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs)), and the perspectives of stakeholders (driving instructors, insurance companies, authorities, certifiers, policy makers and regulators), as a key for obtaining viable and market-ready products. This main objective is further detailed in the following ones:

1) Multidisciplinary (human, social, economic, security, legal and ethical considerations) study of the requirements and expectations of the drivers, VRUs, and stakeholders to assure safety and adoption of automated vehicles.
2) Turning requirements into innovative interaction and monitoring concepts for driver-vehicle interaction in order to bridge the gap between users and automation technologies while assuring safe vehicles handling with reduced driver attention.
3) Turning requirements into innovative monitoring concepts for vehicle-environment interaction, enhancing current Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) through the inclusion of predictive capabilities for better and faster ADAS reactions (nominal and emergency).
4) Validating requirements, user acceptance and impact assessment through realistic user-centric testing exercises under different scenario conditions.
5) Paving the way for the further adoption of the technology by the automation industry, by evolving on testing and pre-validation protocols, proposing advancements on the regulation and consumerist assessment.

Work performed

\"Regarding each respective sub-objective (1 – 5) above, contributions can be described as follows:

1. All partners have jointly contributed, under the lead of TREE, to the definition of the specifications and design of experimental studies with automated vehicles leading to better understanding of the expectations and potential fears of end users as a means of paving the way for massive-scale adoption of automated vehicles. In particular, IfeS have been in charge of coordinating a study of requirements, with all other partners contributing to a literature review, expert interviews and focus group discussions.

2. Following a user-centered design approach, FHG has been responsible for developing innovative HMI concepts for automated driving functions that address the needs and requirements of future users and at the same time as they consider relevant human factors issues. A test methodology has been established for the development of vehicle-driver interaction and driver monitoring systems (DMS). FHG further conducted workshops to explore user requirements for the development of both internal and external HMI concepts. In collaboration with TREE an initial HMI and DMS prototype was set up at the FHG premises in Stuttgart. TREE also contributed with requirements in terms of use cases, scenarios and success criteria, as well as systems specifications.

3. UAH has been in charge of this sub-objective, with TREE contributing to definitions and specifications for the predictive systems that provide the advanced vehicle-environment interaction sought after in the BRAVE project. The technical results of this are the predictive systems for vehicle trajectory and VRU intentions.

4. The project is test-driven, with VTI generally in the lead of testing in three stages, where the first (test-track, existing technology) was finalized during the period. All European-based partners have been actively involved in the design of test methodology and use case specifications, as well as in carrying out specific tests.

5. For successful project implementation partners needed production-level cars with high levels of driver assist and automation systems for the tests, in particular the multi-country tests (France, Slovenia, Spain), and Test #1, implemented in Slovenia. Tests done in the project so far showed that such systems are not working 100%, and that drivers don’t have enough practical information to fully benefit from what such assistance systems actually can offer. Use cases prepared gave drivers a good idea of what each system is capable of. With the scientific approach and clear testing results from BRAVE, industry can bring the understanding of driver assistance systems closer to the general public, both to users of vehicles and others. Strictly commercial car testing available to buyers prior to purchasing a brand-new car would provide added educational value through BRAVE scientific results and thus bring more understanding of such technology, more use of such technology and more results to further and faster improve automated driving. The BRAVE partner UTAC operates a world-renowned testing center, and is also active in automated vehicles working groups, in regulation and in Euro NCAP organizations. In 2020, BRAVE’s final year, the project’s technical developments and tests results will be included in UTAC’s suggestions and proposals for new protocols or methods in official regulation and Euro NCAP tests.



\"

Final results

The main objective in BRAVE is to ensure safe vehicles handling with reduced driver attention for level 3 automated driving systems through an effective interaction between the driver and the vehicle. In particular, BRAVE aims at enhancing HMI and ADAS by bringing the users\' and stakeholders’ expectations and needs into the design process of adoption of automated technologies, interfaces and interaction with both the driver and the environment, facilitating the transitions between human and automated driving and its interactions with vehicles (of any degree of automation or none) and other traffic participants such as pedestrians or VRUs.

Through the above contribution, BRAVE will contribute to the Vision Zero strategy by reducing the probability and impact of potential road accidents caused by human errors. Enhanced automated technology and driver assistance systems will be empowered by user accepted, more natural and safer human-vehicle interaction techniques. In addition, BRAVE will propose new testing and pre-validation protocols to automobile suppliers and manufacturers, by proposing advancements on the regulation and consumerist assessment (UNECE safety regulation and EuroNCAP).

BRAVE assures significant industrial impact by reaching the market with pre-certified products, as the project will seek to advance on validation protocols and on the regulation and consumerist assessment, aiming at reinforcing the leadership of the European automotive industry as a whole, including SMEs.

Through a user-centric approach with several iterations, users will test automated vehicles in pilots. As a result, BRAVE will pave the way for the adoption of the technology by evolving on testing and pre-validation protocols, proposing advancements on the regulation and consumerist assessment procedures.

As a result, BRAVE will deliver best practices for future design of automated technology by bringing users and stakeholders in the process, towards the adoption of automated vehicles

Website & more info

More info: http://www.brave-project.eu/.