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The safe, sustainable transport system

The transport system of the future has to be sustainable and safe. AstaZero supports research into all areas such as electrification, connectivity, automation and active safety making this transition possible.

Test targets and equipment

Targets can programmed for predefined trajectories. In turn it must be possible to equip the carriers with cameras in order to analyse nearby test collisions. Several different embodiments of test targets will be required, target vehicles with metallic surfaces of different vehicle sizes for example, and test targets for bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians (children and adults).

Creation of test scenarios

New Powertrains

The introduction of electric vehicles has brought with it some new risks that have to be tested, not least for new active safety functions and to how to heat vehicles sustainably. Furthermore, safety has to be guaranteed for electrification in an accident situation, for instance due to a voltage drop or where there is an electric shock or a fire. It is important to test whether, and the extent to which, the safety systems still work if they are involved in an accident.

Crash contact point optimization/integrated safety

Human factors such as distractions or tiredness are the main reason behind most traffic accidents. Modern cars will therefore increasingly have electric controls, including warnings that alert the driver to the risk of an accident situation. When developing these systems, account must be taken of the fact that people react differently to specific situations, and extensive research and testing is necessary to develop driver models that produce reliable systems.

Climate-related aspects

AstaZero’s location, with warm summers and cold winters, enables year-round testing. One of the benefits is that the reliability of the active safety systems can be tested under different climate conditions depending on requirements and type of test. One area where climate conditions can be of major importance is in the use of batteries in electric cars, and how they are affected by very high or low outdoor temperatures.

In its most basic form, active safety is about avoiding collisions and other incidents before they happen. Accidents can be possible to avoid by combining sensor technology, vehicle communication and on-board computers, enabling vehicles to communicate both with each other and with their surroundings. When cars get smarter they can compensate for the human factor that is the main cause of traffic accidents. For example, a car can be braked automatically if it approaches an obstacle at too high a speed, and automatic systems can take control if the car goes into a skid.

Active safety systems work in the opposite manner to passive safety systems, such as safety belts and airbags, as these have been developed to provide protection when a collision has already occurred.
In order to maintain and improve today’s safety, cars will increasingly be required to have active safety systems, although passive safety systems are not likely to disappear, but rather become a complement to the new technology.

Advanced tests require careful pre-planning in order to ascertain the correct scenarios. Although some tests at the AstaZero test site can be standardised, most tests probably need to be conducted first in an AstaZero 3D virtual environment. It is only then that the researchers will know which scenarios are most critical, and will then be able to focus more specifically on them. This is also a good way to guarantee the quality of the test, ensuring that the time spent at the test site is not wasted by selecting the wrong test scenarios or even technical problems, which can be ruled out with proper test preparation based on simulations.