Automotive

Euro NCAP ratings to take autonomous pedestrian detection systems into account

Euro NCAP ratings to take autonomous pedestrian detection systems into account
Euro NCAP's new Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests utilize life-like, moving dummies in a controlled environment
Euro NCAP's new Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests utilize life-like, moving dummies in a controlled environment
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Euro NCAP Roadmap 2016-2020 for planned safety testing
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Euro NCAP Roadmap 2016-2020 for planned safety testing
At speeds above 40 km/h and below 60 km/h (25-37 mph), the vehicle should be able to reduce speed to less than 40 km/h before impact
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At speeds above 40 km/h and below 60 km/h (25-37 mph), the vehicle should be able to reduce speed to less than 40 km/h before impact
Euro NCAP's new Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests utilize life-like, moving dummies in a controlled environment
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Euro NCAP's new Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests utilize life-like, moving dummies in a controlled environment
The vehicle should prevent collisions at speeds up to 40 km/h (25 mph)
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The vehicle should prevent collisions at speeds up to 40 km/h (25 mph)
One test includes a child stepping out from behind a parked car
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One test includes a child stepping out from behind a parked car
These tests, say Euro NCAP, are the first in the world to address autonomous emergency systems and pedestrian impacts
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These tests, say Euro NCAP, are the first in the world to address autonomous emergency systems and pedestrian impacts
In 2014, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 47 percent of Europe’s 26,000 road deaths
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In 2014, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 47 percent of Europe’s 26,000 road deaths
Specifications for the Euro NCAP test dummies
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Specifications for the Euro NCAP test dummies
An adult running in front of the vehicle is one of the tests involved
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An adult running in front of the vehicle is one of the tests involved
View gallery - 9 images

The European safety organization Euro NCAP has announced the introduction of a new test to ascertain the effectiveness of pedestrian detection and autonomous braking and collision avoidance systems from different manufacturers. The new Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Pedestrian tests are based on real-world scenarios and utilize new life-like, moving dummies in a controlled environment.

Euro NCAP will begin testing vehicle responses to pedestrians in simulations of three common urban scenarios: adults walking in front of the vehicle, adults running in front of the vehicle, and a child stepping out from behind a parked car. To score well on the test, the vehicle should prevent collisions at speeds up to 40 km/h (25 mph). At speeds above 40 km/h and below 60 km/h (25-37 mph), the vehicle should be able to reduce speed to less than 40 km/h before impact to make it more survivable.

These tests, says Euro NCAP, are the first in the world to address autonomous emergency systems and pedestrian impacts, and the performance of such systems in vehicles that offer them will be reflected in the organization's ratings from next year.

"Many new cars now offer some form of AEB system that can help prevent car-to-car collisions, but only some are able to detect pedestrians, but only some are also able to detect pedestrians," says Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen. "By checking the results on Euro NCAP's website, consumers will be able to verify manufacturers' safety claims and choose the right AEB option."

In 2014, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists accounted for 47 percent of Europe's 26,000 road deaths and for most of the 100,000 permanently disabling injuries caused in traffic accidents. It's estimated that heavy proliferation of autonomous braking systems capable of detecting pedestrians would prevent one in five fatal pedestrian-related collisions.

Most autonomous braking systems are activated through radar, cameras, lasers, or a combination of these. Euro NCAP began assessing pedestrian collision safety since 1997, resulting in significant automotive design changes to mitigate injuries from auto-to-pedestrian impacts. It began assessing AEB systems in 2013 and plans to add cyclist test scenarios to its AEB testing in 2018, with crossing, junction and head-on test scenarios to be added in 2020.

The pedestrian detection testing is demonstrated in the video below.

Source: Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP Puts Autonomous Pedestrian Detection to the Test

View gallery - 9 images
4 comments
4 comments
Daishi
I suspect VW will get very high marks in this test while it's not moving :)
Mel Tisdale
These features are all part of a revolution that is taking place in the automotive world (e.g. electrification, autonomous driving, extensive driver-assistance packages). Surely this revolution needs to be managed globally, doesn't it? I find this quotation from the above article telling:
"Many new cars now offer some form of AEB system that can help prevent car-to-car collisions, but only some are also able to detect pedestrians," says Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen. "By checking the results on Euro NCAP's website, consumers will be able to verify manufacturers' safety claims and choose the right AEB option."
If anyone, or thing, should do the choosing of which pedestrian safety features a new car should have, it has to be the set of global standards that all manufactures should meet, not the car buyer, who might not even consider themselves to be a pedestrian, even if only on occasion. They will quite likely ignore the test results completely, judging the '0 to 60' time to be much more important, especially when bragging about their new toy.
Euro NCAP Secretary General, Dr. Michiel van Ratingen, will, I hope spend at least some of his time conferring with the leaders of other safety initiatives and the like to establish a global set of standards that all vehicles must meet. Setting a date for their implementation will be of importance to all, especially to the owners of vehicles that will be destined for the scrap-heap as a result. Or do we leave it to insurance premiums to price the older, less safe vehicles off the road? Does the death of pedestrian simply amount to 'just bad luck' because they walked out in front of some vehicle that was well past its 'use by' date?
POOL PUMPREAPAIR guy longwood
Ha HA they used a clean burning VW diesel, I wouldn't trust a VW, with there recyclable wiring harness made of castor beans AKA mouse chocolate.
Nik
So, a typical zombie pedestrian, texting or daydreaming, steps in front of a car and the car does an automatic emergency stop. The pedestrian gets away with hopping out of the way, or maybe a minor bump. The driver, meanwhile, is likely to suffer whiplash, and also loses all control of steering, as with brakes fully applied, there is non. On a bend or corner, the results could be unpredictable. Any driver of a vehicle behind that car is likely to be caught out, because he cannot see the pedestrian, so, the pedestrian could cause a multiple pileup, but would probably disappear rapidly into the crowd. I know what my choice would be in such a scenario!