press dossier euroFOT - TRIMIS · As a further demonstration of the depth of its commitment to tackling today’s ... A radar installation ... from pre‐existing digital maps of

PRESS DOSSIER: euroFOT: Intelligent vehicles tested on European roads

www.eurofot‐ip.eu

euroFOT press dossier‐ Intelligent vehicles tested on European roads

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PRESS RELEASE:

Embargoed until Thursday 24 September 2009

For your editorial planning: a Video News Release is available

Intelligent vehicles tested on European roads

As a further demonstration of the depth of its commitment to tackling today’s challenges of increased demand for mobility, the automotive industry has joined forces with various universities, research centres and other stakeholders, in a smart drive to test eight different high-tech intelligent in-vehicle technologies on real roads, with real drivers.

In the context of euroFOT, a European-wide research project, 28 organisations have committed to scientifically test and assess the impact of eight advanced driver assistance systems on safety, efficiency and driver comfort. This collaborative research project is supported by European funds from the DG Information Society and Media.

Both lateral and longitudinal control systems will be tested: systems that give warnings to the driver on potential side- and front-end collisions. Also, other advanced in-vehicle systems such as Curve Speed Warning, Fuel Efficiency Adviser and the Human machine interaction with navigation systems will be tested.

Beginning in 2010, no less than 1000 vehicles from various European vehicle brands equipped with various intelligent in-vehicle systems will drive around Europe for approximately one year. These intelligent vehicles will collect data that should deliver answers with regards to the impacts that these systems have on safety, efficiency and driver comfort.

Speaking at the ITS World Congress for Intelligent Transport Systems, Aria Etemad, Project coordinator of euroFOT from Ford, said “This is the first-of-its-kind- large-scale field operational test that is carried out across brands in Europe.”

Maxime Flament from ERTICO - ITS Europe, responsible for the coordination of the various vehicle centres said: “Car dealers and fleet owners across Europe are currently recruiting the drivers that will take part in this experiment. At the same time, the vehicle operation centres are getting ready to prepare each vehicle for a 1-year long advanced data collection.”

The euroFOT project is expected to raise awareness and provide indications based on scientific data about real benefits of these existing intelligent in-vehicle systems. The results of the field test will also contribute to better and informed decision making.

Further information

This week, at the World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems in Stockholm, the specific plans and methodology used for the euroFOT project will be presented by various researchers taking part in this first of its kind, large-scale European field test.

• Where? At the World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services, Stockholm International Fairs. Between 16:00- 17:30. Special interest Session 29: European Large-scale field Operational test on active safety systems, first results


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A Video News Release about the various euroFOT researchers is available.

The material can be downloaded in broadcast quality via the FTP link (please note that you have to use an ftp client to download the files. Free Ftp client are available for download the the web such as: Filezilla, Smart ftp, ...)

ftp://[email protected] User: ERTICO Password : eurofot

Note to the Editor:

euroFOT is an integrated project supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme of Information Society Technologies. In the context of euroFOT project, 28 organisations have committed to scientifically test and assess the impact of eight advanced driver assistance systems on safety, efficiency and driver comfort.

Duration: 40 months, starting from the first of June 2008 Total cost: €22 million EC contribution: €14 million Coordinator: Ford Research Centre Partners: BMW Group, Fiat Group- CRF, Daimler AG, MAN, Volvo, Volvo Technological Development Corporation, Volkswagen/ Audi, Bosch, Continental, Delphi, Harmann Becker, Chalmers, ICCS, Ika, IZVW, University of Torino, University of Leeds, Bast, Ceesar, CTAG, INRETS, TNO, ADAS Management Consulting, Alcor, Allianz, EICT, ERTICO – ITS Europe

Links:

The euroFOT website: www.eurofot-ip.eu

The World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems: www.itsworldcongress.org

Contact:

General press contact:

ERTICO – ITS Europe

Ariane Brusselmans

+32 2 479 330714

[email protected]


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euroFOT: the eight systems under test

Adaptive Cruise Control Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) uses headway sensors to continuously measure the distance to other vehicles, automatically adjusting the speed to ensure the vehicle does not get too close to the one in front. The driver activates the cruise control by setting the desired maximum speed and then selecting the time gap to the vehicles in front. ACC then adjusts the vehicle's speed to match that of preceding vehicle as necessary.

ACC will be tested by Ford, MAN, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks and Volkswagen:


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Forward Collision Warning Forward Collision Warning (FCW) can help avoid rear‐end impacts or minimise the effects of these type of collisions. A radar installation continuously scans the area in front of a vehicle. If it then approaches too close to another vehicle, then the drisver is alerted via sound and light signals. If the risk of a collision increases despite the warnings, the brakes are pre‐charged to prepare for efficient braking by the driver. When a collision is imminent and the driver does not react, the car automatically brakes to reduce the impact of the accident. There are variations in the level of implementation of brake support in different models. (some models will only have FCW).

FCW will be tested by Ford, MAN, Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks.


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Speed Regulation System

Speed Regulation Systems include Speed Limiter and Cruise Control. These two widely available

functions help the driver to manage his speed and cannot be used simultaneously. The speed limiter

limits the speed below the selected value. The cruise control regulates the speed at the programmed

value.

SRS will be tested by CEESAR on Renault cars.


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Lane Departure Warning/Lane Keeping Assist/Impairment Warning Lane Departure Warning (LDW) assists the driver to maintain his/her lane position, giving a warning if the vehicle crosses lane markings unintentionally. The warning can be acoustic or haptical (vibration or small torque on the steering wheel or driver’s seat).

The system maintains the vehicle position by detecting lane markings or street boundaries via a video sensor. A warning occurs only above a certain minimum speed. Specific driver actions, e.g. setting the indicator, suppress the warning. The system is intended to operate on highways or equivalent roads, and can if necessary be switched off by the driver.

Impairment Warning (IW) alerts tired and distracted drivers. A camera monitors the car’s movements between the lane markings and calculates the risk of the driver losing control of the vehicle. A message in the display advises the driver if it is time to take a break

LDW and IW will be tested by Fiat, MAN, Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo Cars and Volvo Trucks.


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Curve Speed Warning Curve‐speed warning (CSW) technology has been developed to help drivers identify potentially dangerous situations if a bend in the road is taken too fast, and warn the driver in advance allowing him time to react properly. The information about such bends is drawn from pre‐existing digital maps of the road and analysis of the geometric characteristics of the bend. By combining this information with external factors such as weather conditions and estimates of road friction, the maximum recommended speed for the bend is estimated. If the vehicle is approaching at a speed higher than the recommended value, the system can warn the driver of the potential hazard, prepare the safety systems in the vehicle, or actively inhibit further acceleration of the vehicle.

The overall performance of digital map‐based CSW can be significantly improved with the addition of vision‐based sensors such as Lane Detection and Tracking (LDT) and vision‐based rain sensing. The lane‐detection module can provide additional information about the shape and distance to the approaching bend, refining in this way the estimate of the maximum recommended speed. The vision‐based rain sensor is able to detect rain‐drops on the windshield and estimate the reduced road friction, an important parameter for the CSW module.

In addition to warning signals and active interventions, CSW may also assist the user during night driving by means of adaptive front lighting (AFL). This technology is able to adapt the shape, intensity and direction of the light beam to follow the direction of the road. By adjusting the direction of the light beam, AFL can prepare the driver for oncoming bends and guide him/her in the right direction, even before he/she can see the bend. This technology also helps reduce the blinding effect from the headlights of oncoming vehicles, offering increased driver comfort as well as improved vehicle safety.

Curve Speed Warning will be tested by Ford.


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Safe Human Machine Interface Navigation For all in‐vehicle information and communication systems intended for the use while driving, such as navigation systems, a safe human/machine interface is essential.

Navigation system: the navigation system provides location and route guidance information to the driver. Diverse systems (e.g. OEM fitment, after‐market solution) with different display positions and technologies (e.g. central information display, head‐up, or separate detachable display) are already on the market.

The main research questions are: Influence of navigation systems on driving safety, efficiency and driver behaviour, comparison of mobile navigation systems and fixed navigation systems (Safe HMI).

SafeHMI will be tested by BMW Group and Daimler.


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Fuel Efficiency Adviser Dynafleet, a transport information system from Volvo Trucks provides in real time the current location of vehicles, their fuel consumption, messages, driver times, service intervals and much more. Fuel‐efficient driving, or eco‐driving, is supported through on‐board functions for the driver as well as follow‐up reports in the back‐office system Dynafleet Online.

FEA will be tested by Volvo Trucks.


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euroFOT: Video News Release

Description and technical information

TC IN TC OUT REFERENCE 00 :58 :00 :00 00 :59 :00 :00 Colour bars 00 :59 :00 :00 01 :00 :00 :00 Black 01 :00 :00 :00 01 :07 :51 :03 English version 01 :07 :59 :00 01 :15 :50 :03 International version 01 :15 :58 :00 01 :38 :01 :16 B - Roll FILM DURATION 00 :07 :51 INTERVIEWEES NAME TITLE Maxime FLAMENT ERTICO-ITS Europe - euroFOT Sub-

Project Leader Aria ETEMAD FORD – euroFOT Project Coordinator John Fredrik GRONVALL Volvo Cars Safety Centre – Manager –

Traffic Accident Research Marco DOZZA Volvo Technology Corporation –

euroFOT Sub-Project Leader Johan ALMQVIST Volvo Trucks – Traffic and Product

Safety Director Christoph KESSLER Ford – Senior Research Engineer SELPI Chalmers University of Technology –

euroFOT Sub-Project Leader Jonas BARGMAN Chalmers University of Technology –

Field Operational Test Researcher Ahmed BENMIMOUN RWTH Aachen University – euroFOT

Sub-Project Leader ENGLISH SCRIPT REPORT : euroFOT

TC VO TC VI 01 :00 :00 :00 01 :07 :59 :00 TC IN

01 :00 :20 :00 01 :08 :19 :00 Road transport today faces enormous challenges. Demand for personal mobility is increasing, imposing a high cost on society. More than 40,000 people die every year and more than 1.2 million are injured on European roads”. In addition, emissions caused by transport threaten our health, negatively affect environmental quality and make a significant and growing contribution to climate change. Innovations are needed!

01 :00 :45 :00 01 :08 :44 :00 Interview Maxime FLAMENT

“The European Commission has three main challenges in term of road transportation: road safety, traffic congestion and energy efficiency. This is backed up by the intelligent car initiative that was created in 2006 and voted at the European Parliament in 2008”

01 :01 :05 :00 01 :09 :04 :00 In the past decade, the automotive industry has

already made a lot of efforts into making our vehicles safer and more efficient. Today high-tech in-vehicle active safety and efficiency technologies represent a great opportunity to improve this situation even further. Now is the time to get these technologies into the market and better understood.

01 :01 :25 :00 01 :09 :24 :00 Interview Aria ETEMAD

“euroFOT is the first European large scale project for studying the benefits of advanced driver assistant technologies. The goal of the project is to scientifically assess the im pact of intelligent vehicle systems on traffic safety and efficiency.”

01 :01 :44 :00 01 :09 :43 :00 Most of the systems tested are already on the

market. However, they have not penetrated the market sufficiently to really bring about societal benefits.

01 :01 :53 :00 01 :09 :52 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL “Until now many of this intelligent vehicle systems have been in luxury cars, in more expensive cars but now over the years we believe that this will increase traffic safety for everybody and in this project we want to prove and show that for the community and the decision makers that this is really important for traffic safety”

01 :02 :13 :00 01 :10 :12 :00 Interview Aria ETEMAD

“The real value of euroFOT is based on the fact that as a field of operational test it will be carried out using ordinary drivers on actual road and with real traffic conditions.”

01 :02 :28 :00 01 :10 :27 :00 EuroFOT is a first of its kind European wide field operation test. This project is co-funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Program for Research of Information Society Technologies. In Europe, it has 28 partners, including vehicle manufacturers, research institutes and leading automotive-technology suppliers.


“We do that with the 10 different brands of vehicles

that are present in the project and we organise it in different vehicles management centres. They are 4 different vehicles management centres: one in Germany one in Sweden, one in France and one in Italy.”

01 :03 :08 :00 01 :11 :07 :00 Interview Marco DOZZA “So in euroFOT all brands will follow a common methodology. These common methodology will provide guidelines on how, for instance, to define common scientific questions, on how to create a vehicle prototypes which will be the first vehicle collecting field operational test and on how to perform the pilot experiment.”

01 :03 :28 :00 01 :11 :27 :00 Among all these innovation systems, EuroFOT

spotted 8 differents systems that will be tested in the project. In Germany, Volkswagen, Audi cars and MAN trucks are testing the Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system.

01 :03 :43 :00 01 :11 :42 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL “The Lane Departure Warning system is a system with cameras that supports the driver keeping his lanes and when the car move slightly over the lane beside of the road the system warms the driver that he is now leaving the lane”

01 :03 :58 :00 01 :11 :57 :00 This LDW system is also tested by Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks and Fiat.

01 :04 :06 :00 01 :12 :05 :00 Interview Johan ALMQVIST

“Adaptive cruise control it is a radar mounted on the front of the vehicle that keeps check of the vehicles in front of the truck. You set your cruise control to a cruising speed and then detector cruse control will

keep a certain distance to the vehicles in front of your vehicle.”

01 :04 :30 :00 01 :12 :29 :00 Interview Christoph KESSLER

“Many curves cannot be seen by the driver such as blind curves or during night drive. The goal of curve speed warning is to identify such situations in advance allowing the driver enough time to react properly”

01 :04 :50 :00 01 :12 :49 :00 Interview Johan ALMQVIST

“This is also a system based on a radar that checks the distance of the vehicles in front of us and should, you get it to close distance to the vehicle in front of you. Say that when it is stopping or something like that, you all then get an audible alarm that you are getting to close to this vehicle”

01 :05 :10 :00 01 :13 :09 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL “The blind spot information system is a system with cameras on the rear mirrors that helps the driver when he is changing lanes so if there is another object the system will warm the driver, that there is less risk of accident.”

01 :05 :27 :00 01 :13 :26 :00 From research laboratory to field tests, that’s the step that euroFOT want to do with about 1000 participating drivers participants in relation with vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers, universities and research center.

01 :05 :41 :00 01 :13 :40 :00 Interview Maxime Flament

“In the euroFOT project, we try to bring intelligent vehicle systems on the real road, with real drivers in real conditions.”

01 :05 :50 :00 01 :13 :49 :00 Interview SELPI

There are three main challenges in providing technical solutions for euroFOT. The first one is to provide data position system which can collect the data without disturbing the drivers…

01 :06 :03 :00 01 :14 :02 :00 Interview Jonas BARGMAN

“And practically we do this by looking at the data from the vehicles. We also look at eye movements for example from the driver and video from the driver actions of an event.”

01 :06 :17 :00 01 :14 :16 :00 Interview SELPI

“The second one is to provide and efficient and cost effective way of storing and processing this huge among of data.”

01 :06 :24 :00 01 :14 :23 :00 Interview Jonas BARGMAN “The analysis that we do is focused on looking at the effects of active safety systems and the driver interaction with the systems and with the environment.”

01 :06 :35 :00 01 :14 :34 :00 Interview SELPI “And the third one and maybe the most important one is to develop an efficient tool for analysis.”

01 :06 :41 :00 01 :14 :40 :00 Interview Ahmed BENMIMOUN “The automotive industry needs this experiment in order to analyse how the driver uses this systems ; and additionally also to see what benefits this system provides with regard to a safety traffic efficiency and environment.”


“This will help us to fill the gap between research and deployment and bring this system faster to the market.”

01 :07 :06 :00 01 :15 :05 :00 Over the course of one year, more than 1500 cars

and trucks equipped with a range of different intelligent technologies will be tested on European roads, with real drivers in real traffic conditions. The project is now actively searching support of car dealers and fleet managers to take part in this leading European initiative and recruit the test drivers. Maybe you will be one of this privileged driver!

01 :07 :51 :00 01 :15 :50 :00 TC OUT B-ROLL TC IN 01 :15 :58 :00 Interview Maxime FLAMENT 01 :18 :24 :00 Interview Interview Aria ETEMAD 01 :19 :25 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL 01 :20 :00 :00 Interview Maxime FLAMENT 01 :20 :43 :00 Interview Marco DOZZA 01 :21 :14 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL 01 :21 :35 :00 Interview Johan ALMQVIST 01 :22 :05 :00 Interview Interview Christoph KESSLER 01 :23 :02 :00 Interview Johan ALMQVIST 01 :23 :51 :00 Interview John-Fredrik GRONVALL 01 :24 :06 :00 Interview SELPI 01 :24 :51 :00 Interview Jonas BARGMAN 01 :26 :04 :00 Interview SELPI 01 :26 :39 :00 Interview Jonas BARGMAN 01 :26 :59 :00 Interview Ahmed BENMIMOUN 01 :27 :25 :00 General Outside Plans (RUSHES) –Graphic animation 01 :38 :01 :16 TC OUT

SHOOTING INFORMATION

COUNTRY / TOWN PERIOD SWEDEN - GOTTEBORG 29th of June – First of July

Documents

press dossier euroFOT - TRIMIS · As a further demonstration of the depth of its commitment to tackling today’s ... A radar installation ... from pre‐existing digital maps of