With 75 per cent of accidents with pedestrians happening at night, there is a need to improve the current AEB systems mostly designed for daylight conditions. Despite improvements in cameras and algorithms, NHTSA’s proposal is expected to result in future vehicles using a wider range of sensors.
In a recent white paper, VSI-Labs senior partner and principal analyst Egil Juliussen said meeting the requirements could drive demand for infrared cameras, 4D imaging radar and lower-cost solid-state lidar.
According to NHTSA’s proposal, within three years of the final rule, light-duty vehicles with a gross weight rating of up to 4,536 kg will have to meet the following standards:
- FCW and AEB must be active at 10km/h or greater to ensure some level of accident mitigation is always present. There are no specific deceleration or crash avoidance criteria if traveling at speeds higher than the proposal’s tests, but compliance will be enforced by post-crash investigations.
- AEB must prevent collisions with a lead vehicle that is stopped, slowing or moving more slowly. In the toughest scenarios the subject vehicle is traveling at up to 100 km/h toward a target which is either stationary or moving at 20 km/h, and testing will assess how responses are affected by manual brake inputs.
- Pedestrian AEB must prevent collisions with a mannequin, which can be stationary, crossing from the left or right, and following the path of the vehicle at up to 65 km/h. Tests will be done in daylight and in darkness, the latter using low- and high-beam headlights. Manufacturers will have an extra 12 months to meet low-beam collision avoidance requirements.
- AEB must avoid false positives under two scenarios: driving over a steel trench plate (commonly used in roadworks) and through a 4.5-m gap between two stopped cars. The maximum permitted brake response is 0.25g of deceleration force. Vehicles must also issue a visual warning to drivers if the system is not working properly, such as if sensors are saturated by glare or obstructed by snow or fog.
DVN comment
Different technologies will compete to improve the detection of pedestrians at night: radar, IR sensors, short range lidars. Cameras alone cann’t do the job!
