Integrated solutions for preventive and active safety systems

Date: 12 July 2006

IP PReVENT and ERTICO Partner Volvo Technology organised an extensive demonstration of results from the ERTICO-managed and European Commission-supported Integrated Project PReVENT at the Transport Research Arena conference in Gothenburg, Sweden on 12-16 June. The demonstration consisted of a Volvo truck cockpit mock-up and a simulated road scene displayed on a large plasma screen in front of the driver.

Visitors could experience preventive and active safety applications such as active lane keeping support (IP PReVENT subproject SAFELANE) and start inhibit (IP PReVENT subproject APALACI), as well as the integration of these functions with the adaptive Human Machine Interface concept developed by the AIDE project.  Furthermore, a series of safety functions developed in IP PReVENT subprojects were presented on a large plasma screen, informing visitors of the potential of these technologies.

Integrated solutions

At the conference, Volvo Technology also gave an extensive presentation on integrated solutions for preventive and active safety systems. Focusing on the results generated by IP PReVENT's subprojects INSAFES and ProFusion, the presentation argued that the driver alone cannot be considered to be the main cause of traffic accidents. Considering the driver's complex task, it is fairer to say that accidents are caused by the traffic environment's and the vehicles' failure to adapt to the driver’s abilities.

From the vehicle manufacturers’ side, safer vehicles can be built and systems to help drivers handle their complex driving task can be developed. Navigation systems can assist with the navigation task and ABS systems can help stabilise the vehicle. In recent years, systems that assist drivers in manoeuvring tasks have also become available, such as adaptive cruise control that helps drivers maintain a safe distance to the vehicle ahead.

A high-class interface
Such systems put high demands on the Human-Machine Interface. There is a need to interact with the driver in an easily understandable way to avoid overloading him or her with information and warnings. For the systems to be really helpful, it is essential that the driver gets the right information at the right time and that system actions are coordinated. If several systems need to present information or warnings at the same time, higher prioritised functions must be able to suppress less urgent information and actions.

Sensor Fusion
Different functions often use different types of sensors. When there is more than one sensor, it is possible to combine or fuse the information from the sensors. This has many advantages. If the sensors look in different directions, a more complete coverage area can be obtained and if the sensors are partly overlapping, higher system reliability can be achieved. There are also economic benefits when more than one function can use the same set of sensors. From the functional point of view, providing all functions with the same view of the vehicle environment is beneficial. For instance, a lane keeping function can be enhanced not only to keep the vehicle in the centre of the lane, but also to adjust the position with respect to vehicles in adjacent lanes.

Overall, the main goal of functional integration is to assist the driver and encourage safe driving.

For more information, please visit the IP PReVENT website or contact ERTICO Project and Development Manager Maxime Flament

André Vits, Head of the European Commission's ICT for Transport Unit	The Volvo simulator