ABD has signed a collaboration agreement with Dynamic Research Inc of Torrance CA, USA to jointly supply guided soft target vehicles. The resultant product will combine DRI's innovative "over-runnable" soft target and ABD's proven expertise in robot-controlled vehicles.
The trajectories for the soft target and the test vehicle can be programmed remotely and followed with high accuracy and precise timing. Higher impact speeds are possible than with ABD's existing Soft Crash Target Vehicle (SCTV), as the test vehicle can simply drive over the target's control platform.
ABD's own SCTV (with central drive box) has also been redesigned with a full carbon-fibre chassis, resulting in a 66kg (29%) weight-saving. Acceleration and braking performance have significantly improved as a result.
Both types of soft crash target are operated via ABD's Robot Controller software and can be synchronised with robot-driven test vehicles, enabling tests that are not possible with passive soft targets.