The pathway to automated feature enablement in series production vehicles begins with ADAS, specifically active systems that support lateral and/or longitudinal control for safety purposes. These safety systems form the basis of L1 automation that rely on sensors and sophisticated algorithms.
One of these safety features is automatic emergency braking (AEB) for pedestrians and bicyclists, also referred to as vulnerable road users (VRUs). Collisions with pedestrians are one of the leading causes of death among automobile accidents, which is why AEB systems play such a key role in vehicle safety. For safety-critical systems such as AEB, it is vitally important to test such systems and validate the safety for both the driver and VRUs. Euro NCAP has created testing standards that can evaluate the safety and functionality of AEB systems from all different vehicle manufacturers, creating a level playing field and informing consumers on the safety of each vehicle provides.
This report summarizes test conditions, procedures, and scenarios of Euro NCAP’s AEB VRU testing. It also discusses the challenges and the outlook of Euro NCAP testing for more advanced active safety systems.
