European New Car Assessment Program Research Articles

Proposal of a Cost-Effective and Adaptive Customized Driver Inattention Detection Model Using Time Series Analysis and Computer Vision

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as Forward Collision Warning and Lane Departure Warning, play a crucial role in accident prevention by alerting drivers to potential hazards. With the advent of fully autonomous driving technology that requires no driver input, there is now a greater emphasis on monitoring the state of vehicle occupants. This is particularly important because, in emergency situations where control must suddenly be transferred to an unprepared occupant, the risk of accidents increases significantly. To mitigate this risk, new monitoring technologies are being developed to analyze driver behavior and detect states of inattention or drowsiness. In response to the emerging demands of driver monitoring technology, we have developed the Customized Driver Inattention Detection Model (CDIDM). This model employs video analysis and statistical techniques to accurately and rapidly classify information on drivers’ gazes. The CDIDM framework defines the components of inattentive or drowsy driving based on the Driver Monitoring System (DMS) safety standards set by the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP). By defining six driving behavior-related scenarios, we have improved the accuracy of driver inattention assessment. The CDIDM estimates the driver’s gaze while simultaneously analyzing data in real-time. To minimize computational resource usage, this model incorporates a series of preprocessing steps that facilitate efficient time series data analysis, utilizing techniques such as DTW Barycenter Averaging (DBA) and K-means clustering. This results in a robust driver attention monitoring model based on time series classification.

Semiactive Car-Seat System for Rear-End Collisions

This study proposes and simulates a smart system that can be used in production car seats to decrease whiplash risk in rear-end crashes. A sliding seat incorporating a semiactively controlled magnetorheological (MR) damper model positioned under the seat-pan is simulated with a validated biofidelic human body model. Since this is the first study that demonstrates a computer controlled anti-whiplash car seat system to the best of the authors’ knowledge, a benchmark analysis is carried out to compare the proposed semiactive seat with a state-of-the-art passive anti-whiplash car seat using 23 different crash pulses, including the moderate and high severity crash pulses within the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) whiplash risk assessment framework. The proposed semiactive design outperforms the passive seat design by further reducing the values of the critical EuroNCAP whiplash criteria, such as NIC and Nkm, together with the loads acting on the upper neck. The semiactive seat lowers the upper-neck shear force by an amount of 4 kg and 7 kg while lessening the NIC by 10% and 21% and Nkm by 9% and 56% for the EuroNCAP crash pulses, having a delta-V of 16 km/h and 24 km/h, respectively. The findings presented in this paper can aid in the design of car seats to further mitigate whiplash risk in rear-end crashes.

Prediction of Occupant Injuries for Improved eCall Efficiency

Especially in emerging markets, no emergency infrastructure is established. In case of an accident, passing road users need to call for help or the ambulance. An automated eCall to friends, family or in future directly to the rescue control with transmission of GPS position, probable injury pattern and injury severity could significantly improve the rescue chain and would save lives in large scale. Initial approaches to the prediction of an injury pattern were investigated in this paper. A simulation model of a reference vehicle and with a hybrid III 50 percentile dummy was built by using the program MADYMO. A large amount of real accident data was processed using an algorithm created in MATLAB. This made it possible to adapt the acceleration data with identical rules and to determine the different restraint system ignition times. The algorithm allows the data to be used in the simulation model. Furthermore, the corresponding accident descriptions were analysed and translated into protection criteria level by means of literature. For the subsequent evaluation, the assessment protocol (Version 8.0.3) of the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) was used. To validate the model, an ordinal rating system was created to compare the ratings of the simulation and the injury descriptions. The results indicate a good prediction of the injury patterns with an agreement of 39.56 percent. Especially considering that a large number of influencing parameters are unknown.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Euro-NCAP Upper Legform to WAD 775 mm Test

Recently, governments around the world are seeking to reduce pedestrian mortality by strengthening pedestrian safety regulations such as Euro-NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program). In 2015, the Euro-NCAP revised the upper leg assessment for the upper legform to WAD (Wrap Around Distance) 775 mm test. The methods and procedures of the revised upper legform to WAD 775 mm test are analyzed and evaluated. Experimental tests are carried out to comprehend the test procedures, and the aspects to be supplemented are observed. A car-to-human model simulation, which reproduces the pedestrian accident, is performed, and the data on the thigh and femur are computed. It is assumed that the car-to-human simulation can represent a real accident. Comparison is conducted between the results of the Euro-NCAP test and the car-to-human simulation, and the problems of the Euro-NCAP test are identified. The car-to-upper legform simulation is carried out to improve the costly repeated Euro-NCAP tests. Also, it is shown that the newly proposed car-to-upper legform simulation can be used to follow the path of the car-to-human model simulation. The upper legform to WAD 775 mm test is discussed based on the results of the experimental tests and the simulations.

Understanding the Perception of Road Segmentation and Traffic Light Detection u sing Machine Learning Techniques

Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) has seen tremendous growth over the past 10 years. In recent times, luxury cars, as well as some newly emerging cars, come with ADAS application. From 2014, Because of the entry of the European new car assessment programme (EuroNCAP) [1] in the AEBS test, it helped gain momentum the introduction of ADAS in Europe [1]. Most OEMs and research institutes have already demonstrated on the self-driving cars [1]. So here, a focus is made on road segmentation where LiDAR sensor takes in the image of the surrounding and where the vehicle should know its path, it is fulfilled by processing a convolutional neural network called semantic segmentation on an FPGA board in 16.9ms [3]. Further, a traffic light detection model is also developed by using NVidia Jetson and 2 FPGA boards, collectively named as 'Driving brain' which acts as a super computer for such networks. The results are obtained at higher accuracy by processing the obtained traffic light images into the CNN classifier [5]. Overall, this paper gives a brief idea of the technical trend of autonomous driving which throws light on algorithms and for advanced driver-assistance systems used for road segmentation and traffic light detection.

Design and structural analysis of an interprovincial bus applying the LFRD method

The research is aimed at the body industry specifically of a passenger transport bus which was subjected to a static analysis according to the requirements determined by the standard NTE INEN 1323:2009 and applying the Load Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) method for the different load combinations allowing to verify the resistance of the structure and its maximum deformation, according to the parameters allowed by the standard; the frontal impact according to the test conditions according to international standards of European New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) by means of the Finite Element Method (FEM), in order to determine the behavior of the body in case of a possible collision; the aerodynamics of the bodywork with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software and in the wind tunnel in order to validate the results obtained in the software with reality, for this process the geometry of the bodywork was evaluated by printing a 3D prototype on a scale of 1:200, which resulted in a body conformed by a deflector presenting a higher lift coefficient, reduction of turbulence zones and optimum drag coefficient according to the norm.

Reliability-based multiobjective optimisation of vehicle bumper structure holes for the pedestrian flexible legform impact

ABSTRACTVehicle bumper structure can effectively protect the pedestrian lower extremity from severe injury in vehicle–pedestrian collision; thus, its design signifies a key issue in automobile engineering. This study considers the manual prototype production process tolerance of six design variables describing two holes in the bumper structure. To ensure a high safety rating in the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro-NCAP) rating system, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) elongation and the tibia bending moment of T3 are taken as objectives, while the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) elongation, the medial collateral ligament (MCL) elongation, the tibia bending moment of T1, the tibia bending moment of T2 and the tibia bending moment of T4 as constrains in the optimisation process. By combining the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) method, the proposed optimisation methodology provides an analytic and systematic tool for optimising the multiple objective functions and evaluating the probabilistic constraint functions simultaneously. The Pareto fronts from the deterministic, 90% and 99% reliability design are compared and analysed. Compared with the initial design, the 99% reliability design result shows that the pedestrian lower extremity injury indicators of T3 and ACL can be decreased by 10.09% and 26.25%, respectively.

Reliability design optimization of vehicle front-end structure for pedestrian lower extremity protection under multiple impact cases

Injuries to the lower extremities are one of the major issues in vehicle to pedestrian collisions. To evaluate pedestrian lower extremity protection, the Transport Research Laboratory Pedestrian Legform Impactor (TRL-PLI) test has been conducted according to the specifications in European Union (EU) regulation. At the same time, a Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor (Flex-PLI), which has flexible femur and tibia, is examined in European New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) rating system. To minimize injury risks of pedestrian lower extremity, this paper presents the design optimization of a typical vehicle front-end structure subjected to two different impact cases of TRL-PLI and Flex-PLI. Several approaches involving sampling techniques, surrogate model, multiobjective optimization algorithm and reliability analysis are introduced and applied. Four different basis functions of radial basis function (RBF) surrogate model are adopted for achieving more accurate solutions for structural optimization and reliability analysis. It shows that the accuracy of the basis function is different and the best one is selected for approximate the objective and constraint functions. In order to take into account the effect of design variables uncertainty, the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) is conducted, and a Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) is adopted to generate random distributions of the constraint functions for each design. The differences of the different Pareto fronts of the deterministic optimization and RBDO are compared and analyzed in this study. Finally, the reliability-based optimum design result is verified by using test validation. It is shown that the pedestrian lower extremity injury can be substantially improved for meeting product development requirements through the proposed approach.

Impact severity assessment in vehicle accidents

The severity of the impact in a car accident is an essential parameter for evaluating the performance of the vehicles in terms of passive safety, as well as to compare different accidents and be able to correlate structural and kinematic parameters to the occupant's injuries. In assessment programmes, like the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), impact severity plays an essential role in the evaluation of the adequacy and representativeness of the experimental tests in relation to real-life accident conditions. In the present paper, two dimensionless indexes are considered, the crash severity and the crash momentum index. Starting from the available formulation, only valid for plastic centred impacts, these indexes are generalised to the case of oblique impacts and not necessarily plastic, by expressing them as a function of the ratio between the vehicles’ masses and stiffness, and as a function of the vehicles configuration at impact. With this generalisation, indexes can be used in the analysis and comparison of real world accidents. Typical applications of the indexes are discussed and a comparison between an EuroNCAP test and a crash that simulates the impact between two vehicles in a typical configuration of an urban accident is carried out.

Multiobjective optimization design for vehicle occupant restraint system under frontal impact

Occupant Restraint System (ORS) can effectively protect passengers from severe injury in vehicle collision, thus its design signifies a key issue in automobile engineering. To ensure a high safety rating, e.g. five or at least four stars in the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP) rating system, which has been widely used to rate the different vehicles from different manufacturers, design optimization becomes essential. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of conventional mathematical programming methods directly integrated with numerical simulation and sensitivity analysis for optimization is of limited practical value, due to high complexity of structures, nonlinearity of materials and deformation involved. To address the issue, this paper combines a Kriging (KRG) model with Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) for vehicle ORS design. The ORS design of a 40% Offset Deformable Barrier (ODB) frontal impact test with the collision speed of 64 km/h is exemplified for the presented method. The results show that the KRG model can well predict the ORS responses for the design. Finally, the optimum result is verified by using sled physical tests. It is found that the ORS performance can be substantially improved for meeting product development requirements through the proposed approach.

Lower leg injury simulation for EuroNCAP compliance

Occupant lower leg injury prediction is a difficult procedure due to the complex interactions between the occupant and vehicle structure. This study presents a method to simulate the lower leg kinematics and injuries with MADYMO in the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP) 40% offset deformable barrier (ODB) crash test. This study also addresses how to model the vehicle motion, intrusion of the instrument panel (IP), steering wheel, dash panel and accelerator pedal for crash tests. The modelling of the IP surface and the footrest for both driver and passenger is presented. The model was correlated to a full vehicle ODB crash test, and the overall results for the tibia index were found to be acceptable.

Head Injuries in Child Pedestrian Accidents—In-Depth Case Analysis and Reconstructions

Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate head injuries, injury risks, and corresponding tolerance levels of children in car-to–child pedestrian collisions. Methods. An in-depth accident analysis was carried out based on 23 accident cases involving child pedestrians. These cases were collected with detailed information about pedestrians, cars, and road environments. All 23 accidents were reconstructed using the MADYMO program with mathematical models of passenger cars and child pedestrians developed at Chalmers University of Technology. The contact properties of the car models were derived from the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) subsystem tests. Results. The accident analysis demonstrated that the head was the most frequently and severely injured body part of child pedestrians. Most accidents occurred at impact speeds lower than 40 km/h and 98% of the child pedestrians were impacted from the lateral direction. The initial postures of children at the moment of impact were identified. Nearly half (47%) of the children were running, which was remarkable compared with the situation of adult pedestrians. From accident reconstructions it was found that head impact conditions and injury severities were dependent on the shape and stiffness of the car front, impact velocity, and stature of the child pedestrian. Head injury criteria and corresponding tolerance levels were analyzed and discussed by correlating the calculated injury parameters with the injury outcomes in the accidents. Conclusions. Reducing head injuries should be set as a priority in the protection of child pedestrians. HIC is an important injury criterion for predicting the risks of head injuries in child pedestrian accidents. The tolerance level of head injuries can have a considerable variation due to individual differences of the child pedestrians. By setting a suitable speed limit and improving the design of car front, the head injury severities of child pedestrians can be reduced.

Car Side Structure Crashworthiness in Pole and Moving Deformable Barrier Side Impacts

To clearly understand passenger car structure's crashworthiness in typical side impacts of pole and moving deformable barrier (MDB) impact modes, which could assist the establishment of Chinese vehicle side impact safety regulations, a full midsized car finite element model, calibrated by pole side impact test, was built and the pole side impact according to European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) and the MDB side impact according to ECE R95 regulations were simulated with LS-DYNA. The accelerations and the structure deformations from simulations were compared. It can be concluded that the pole side impact focuses primarily on side structure crashworthiness as a result of large intrusions, while the MDB side impact focuses primarily on full side structure crashworthiness. Accordingly, occupant protection strategies focus on different aspects to improve side impact safety. In the pole side impact the objective is to maintain the passenger compartment and protect the passenger's head from impacting the pole, while in the MDB side impact the objective is to protect the full human body. In the design of the car side structures, at least these two tests should be considered for assessing their side impact crashworthiness. Conducting these two side impact tests as certified tests provides insights into car safety during side impacts.

An offset rigid barrier-based test: equivalence to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety frontal offset impact safety test

The current Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) frontal offset impact safety assessment, which is similar to the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP), uses a fixed deformable barrier of aluminium honeycomb construction. The IIHS offset deformable barrier (ODB), designed to mimic an average collision partner during an accident, is however a relatively expensive and time-consuming representation for evaluating the safety of a given vehicle during frontal collisions. The repeatability of tests based on ODBs has also been questioned in some investigations reported in published literature. In the current paper, available finite element models of a compact car (Dodge Neon) and a full-size car (Dodge Intrepid) were first improved and validated against actual test results reported by the IIHS. Each of these validated models was next subjected to 40% offset impact against a rigid wall in lieu of the deformable IIHS barrier at a lower speed calculated on the basis of energy balance. The simulations were carried out with the aid of the explicit code LS-DYNA. It was shown that a remarkably good correlation can be obtained for occupant compartment intrusions for impact against an offset rigid barrier vis-à-vis the IIHS ODB. Thus, at a lower speed the offset rigid barrier can be a cost-effective and efficient alternative to the currently used ODB.