Overview
Based on the research activities of the last years within DRIVE II, PROMETHEUS and the EU 4th Framework Programme, the concept of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is in the development process as a first Advanced Driver Assistance System and has been introduced to the market in this year (1999). All surveys and experimental assessments have proven that users have shown a high interest and product acceptance for such kind of systems. It is clear, that this is only the beginning of developments towards more advanced functions. Future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) may help the driver in more and more complex driving tasks. They can partly take over the control driving a car in traffic situations in which the driver hands over the control of the car to the Driver Assistance System
According to the experience from other projects partly sponsored also by the European Commission (such as UDC, AC-ASSIST, .) the programme shall focus on the following aspects:
- Definition of a characteristic sample of applications for low speed driving
- Definition of an open and flexible hardware & software architecture
- Improvement of sensors for the use according to the defined specifications
- Interface harmonisation and data bus definition for transfer of sensor data
- Fusion of sensor data
- Visualisation of results
- Assessment
- Dissemination
CARSENSE developed a sensing system and an appropriate flexible architecture for driver assistance systems, with the aim being to advance the development of ADAS for complex traffic and driving situations, initially at low speeds. The ADASE project identified that driver assistance at low speed is the next most feasible function after the introduction of ACC. Based on these agreed scenarios, it was chosen to cover a large spectrum of low speed real-life situations, data from various sensors will be acquired simultaneously and recorded along with additional driving sequence description scripts. The scripts provided the partners with the means for calibrating their sensors and for testing their algorithms. LCPC (LIVIC department) used its own test tracks to achieve this task.
At the end of the project, a second set of tests permited a study of the performance of each newly designed sensor. This also helped to assess the benefits of sensor fusion and allow an evaluation of the detection performa.
Funding
Results
The CARSENSE project is an important step on the way to high performance perception systems in future ADAS. The combination of multiple sensor information will improve object detection reliability and accuracy over that derived from today’s sensors. With the development of new sensor functions, such as detection of fixed obstacles and wider field of view, the systems will be capable of use in urban areas, and high integrity (and comfort) ACC systems.
Ultimately these sensing systems may be used in safety applications such as Collision Mitigation or even Collision Avoidance.
Technical Implications
- Video sensor: improved processing of complex multiple targets road scenarios
- Radar sensor: improved short range detection to prevent cut-ins and enhance the fixed obstacle detection capabilities of the present sensor technology.
- Laser sensor: improvement of existing laser scanning technology for use in urban areas in order to analyse complex situations under several environmental conditions.
Policy implications
The level of the results can still be improved. Therefore, the CARSENSE consortium suggests to the EU to continue the programme within the next framework programme in order to consolidate the results and benefit completely form the developments performed during the last three years. An integration of such a CARSENS II into the IP of ADASE seems the best way to achieve this.