Search Results

In order to improve driver safety, car manufacturers propose a wide range of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS). Their behavior can drastically modify the vehicle dynamics and generate for the driver a discrepancy between the expected and observed behavior. The modification of car response can also be due to the occurrence of an ADAS component failure. It appears the assessment of the impact of such systems and such events on the driver is a major challenge, which designers have to cope with. However, it appears, the monitoring of driver's response may become complex to implement on real car or even hazardous. The introduction of driving simulator allows overcoming many of these limitations but the conduct of exhaustive experiments is also difficult considering the number of possible events, driving context and involving a wide range of drivers' profiles. The use of driver models which is able to reflect driver control behavior in such conditions is necessary.

PROMETHEUS, a Research Cooperation Program, uniting the primary European Automotive Companies, strives to improve Road Safety and Traffic Efficiency by developing appropriate information and communication technology. Industrial Application Projects are designed by the Function Groups, concerned with Driver Assistance by electronics systems and Vehicle to Vehicle and/or Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communication. We describe the Function Group's activity and analyze the pre-competitive research Design Process for a Cooperative Control application assessed by the corresponding Thematic Working Groups. Such an application is designed along a Top-down approach starting with defining the strategies concepts, a technical baseline, investigating critical areas and technical solutions. For the given application, requirements are analyzed for a Positioning System and a Communication Device. Specifications are determined according to reliability and safety criteria.

By the action on the steering wheel, the driver has the capability to control the trajectory of its vehicle. Nevertheless, the steering wheel has also the role of information provider to the driver. In particular, the torque level at the steering wheel informs the driver about the interaction between the vehicle and the road. This information flow is natural due to the mechanical chain between the road and the steering wheel. Many studies have shown that steering wheel torque feedback is crucial to ensure the control of the vehicle. In the context of uncoupled steering (steer-by-wire vehicle or driving simulators), the torque rendering on the steering wheel is a major challenge. In addition, of the trajectory control, the quality of this torque is a key for the immersion of drivers in virtual environment such as in driving simulators. The torque-rendering loop is composed of different steps.