Client

Department of Trade and Industry and Department for Transport

Project Title

The Advanced Protection of Vulnerable Road Users (APVRU)

Background

APVRU was part of the Foresight Vehicle Programme looking to provide the basis of vehicle technology solutions towards 2020. The project was initiated in response to pedestrian accident data where pedestrians account for approximately 25% of EU road fatalities.

Objective

To develop a proof-of-concept system capable of detecting vulnerable road users (VRUs), distinguishing them from the road environment, tracking their position and predicting potential impacts with a vehicle.

Methodology

A sensor system comprising multiple radar units (to determine the range and bearing of an object) and an infrared sensor (to determine whether or not the object had a thermal contrast) was designed and developed. System hardware was developed and algorithms written to combine data from radar and infrared sensors in real time to track the position of pedestrians in front of a test vehicle. This information, along with vehicle data, was used to decide when an active safety system should or should not deploy. Testing on TRL's test track used a 'thermal dummy' with infrared and radar profiles representative of a human in order to assess the performance of the system.

Outcome

The algorithms successfully combined sensor data from multiple, short-range, pulse radar units and a low-resolution passive infrared sensor array, eliminating false triangulation combinations while ensuring that only thermally distinct, moving targets were considered. The performance of this proof-of-concept system was demonstrated on TRL's research track in real-world accident scenarios, impacting with an anthropometric dummy, at speeds (limited by current hardware) up to 25 km/h (15.5 mph). A derivative of this sensor system may eventually provide the technological link between VRU detection and a driver warning, collision avoidance and/or activation of a safety system on the vehicle.

Technologies Involved

• Sensors

For more information on this project, please visit http://www.trl.co.uk/apvru/index.htm

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