- Project partners include: Audi, BMW, Bosch, Continental, Daimler, Opel, TÜV SÜD, Volkswagen, and more
- Project’s objectives are to define test procedures, develop the tool chain and create a common method of safeguarding highly automated driving functions
- AB Dynamics equipment enables highly accurate, synchronised testing of complex scenarios
AB Dynamics is contributing key technologies to the German PEGASUS project, a €34m national initiative to establish industry-wide quality standards and test procedures for automated vehicle functions. AB Dynamics was identified as one of the few companies with the technology to control multiple vehicles accurately and repeatably enough to ensure consistent and actionable test results.
Within PEGASUS, TÜV SÜD, a global technical services supplier, is responsible for physical testing on proving grounds. TÜV SÜD uses AB Dynamics' Flex-0 for by-wire control, path following for active guidance and Synchro for synchronisation of targets and test vehicles. In addition, AB Dynamics’ range of hardware, including driving robots, Guided Soft Targets and the LaunchPad platform for vulnerable road user targets can be used to bring test scenarios to life. These are proven solutions from AB Dynamics that can be used to meet PEGASUS’ requirements for the implementation and execution of complex test scenarios. They also enable the seamless integration of the individual elements that are required within the PEGASUS tool chain. In this case, TÜV SÜD is applying a Kia Niro fitted with a PolySync Drive Kit for “by-wire” control, but the concept can also be used with a range of other cars, for example the Kia Soul or Chrysler Pacifica.
“Proving the safety and reliability of automated and autonomous systems before they are permitted to share road space with the public remains a major challenge facing the automotive industry,” said Robert Matawa, Lead Engineer Testing and Certification HAD, TÜV SÜD. “While the technical building blocks for autonomous control exist, the task of training a self-learning system to cope with the complexity of the real world requires new methods and approaches. The standards to which a vehicle would be certified, and even the test procedures to demonstrate compliance, have yet to be developed and agreed upon.”
In order to accelerate the safe introduction of autonomous vehicles and systems, the four-year PEGASUS project, part-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, brings together 17 partners from the German automotive industry, including OEMs, suppliers and research institutions. Their objectives are to define standardised test procedures, develop a flexible and continuous tool chain, and create a common method of safeguarding highly automated driving functions.
AB Dynamics will support the PEGASUS project’s drive for consistency in two important ways. Firstly, the company’s common software protocols and open interface for desktop, laboratory and track testing will reduce engineering workload while also simplifying data management – also allowing the direct comparison of results from different test regimes. Secondly, its range of complementary track test technologies will enable autonomous vehicles to be tested cost-effectively in proximity to a variety of other road users and vehicle types.
For more information on the PEGASUS project, please visit www.pegasusprojekt.de/en/home
Basically correct but one might ask whether this goal is already achieved or not. In fact the consistency of the entire PEGASUS Process is not proven within the project so it might be wise to say that ABD supports this striving for consistency by bringing in its smart technology and the open and communicative interface environment.
Hi Robert, we used ‘support these aims’ as a way of indicating that the goals have not yet been achieved.