TESTING AND VERIFICATION METHODS FOR AUTOMATED DRIVING FUNCTIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTION SYSTEM

The Project

Fully automated driving, which does not require human monitoring and interaction, is expected to bring a lot of benefits to the transportation sector. These benefits include, but are not limited to1:

  • Safety: reduce accidents caused by human errors
  • Efficiency: smart transport systems, e.g. no traffic jams
  • Emissions: lower energy consumption and emissions
  • Social inclusion: ensure mobility for all, e.g. elderly, impaired, children
  • Comfort: possibility to do other activities during driving

However, so far only partial automation of SAE Level 2/2+ were introduced broadly to the market, which is limited to a simple operation design domain (ODD) and still requires human monitoring and interaction. The progress is held back mostly due to certification difficulties of automated driving functions (ADFs).1

To accelerate the progress, approaches towards testing and homologation are needed!

So, the project EUREKA Test.EPS aims to develop virtual and real cross-border testing and certification processes and methods to enable the certification of driving functions and environmental perception systems (EPS) as well as tool applications for ODD-based AD/ADAS functions with special focus on EPS to ensure robust and safe operation of automated mobility.

For this, four use cases were developed which should cover the main market needs:

  • UC 1 addressing market needs of valet parking
  • UC 2 covering market needs of Automated Lane Keeping System (ALKS)
  • UC 3 addressing the market need for virtual sensor testing
  • UC 4 covering market needs for a reliable and certifiable environment perception system (EPS)

Figure 1: Envisioned transnational testing area between Austria and Hungary

For the implementation of the processes and methods a unique cross-border testing region will be created, where the entire driving functions (perception-planning-control) can be investigated. The cross-border testing region offers an opportunity to test the capabilities of the perception part of the driving function. As well it needs to cope with challenges that arise from different country specifics and unavoidable ODD transitions.

These efforts should lead to a reliable, safe and general accepted certification process for ADFs with a special focus on EPS.

 

1) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856415000804

 

 

 

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