Test rig of the ABRAM motorcycle riding simulator

The motorcycle test rig for the riding simulation experiments is now ready for validation.

ABRAM is testing autonomous emergency braking for motorycles

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) is conducting a pilot study to investigate the possible behaviours and the subjective perception of motorcycle riders when an automatic deceleration kicks in.

The test consists of mild decelerations of the motorcycle while traveling at a constant speed of 40 km/h along a straight in a flat area free from traffic and obstacles. The deceleration triggers at random time within a given time window. The decelerations are produced by cutting out the engine power thus making the vehicle slow down due to frictions with a constant deceleration of 2 m/s^2 (corresponding to 20% of a full braking action).

New equipment for on road experiments of automatic decelerations

ABRAM WP3 target decelerations.
The new equipment for the tests of automatic decelerations with volunteer riders has just arrived.
The tests will involve 10 participants who will experience automatic mild decelerations while riding along a straight path (up to 40 km/h).

The automatic decelerations will be up to 0.3 g and will be produced by cutting the engine power via remote control at a random time. The participants will report about their experience with pseudo-autonomous decelerations. This is a first step to show the feasibility of unmanned emergency decelerations that may reduce the impact speed in case of an inevitable collision.

Original Manuscript available on line - Evaluation of an autonomous braking system in real world PTW crashes

The original manuscript of the paper Evaluation of an autonomous braking system in real world PTW crashes published on Traffic Injury Prevention will be available for consultation soon.


To cite this article: 
Giovanni Savino, Marco Pierini, Matteo Rizzi & Richard Frampton (2013): Evaluation of an Autonomous Braking System in Real-World PTW Crashes, Traffic Injury Prevention, 14:5, 532-543.


Preview of this article:

Evaluation of an autonomous braking system in real world PTW crashes

Abstract

Powered two wheelers (PTWs) are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. They have the ability to get around traffic queues, thus lowering fuel consumption and increasing mobility. The risk of rider injury in a traffic crash is however much higher than that for their four wheeled counterparts. The European project Powered two wheeler Integrated Safety (PISa), identified an autonomous braking system (AB) as a priority to reduce the injury consequences of a crash. This study assessed the potential effectiveness of the AB system developed in PISa, taking into account the specific system characteristics that emerged during the design, development and testing phases. Fifty eight PTW accidents representing European crash configurations were examined. Two of the largest crash types were a PTW impacting a stationary object (CFS, 16%) and an object pulling across the PTW path (CRS, 54%). 43% of the crashes contained a rider with MAIS 2+ injury. In 67% of cases, the application of AB could have mitigated the crash outcome. Analysis of the real crash cases under a complete set of possible rider reactions showed the potential for an expert rider to avoid the collision. An early reaction of the rider, associated with a correct application of the brakes would have avoided 18 out of 37 CFS and CRS crashes. Conversely, according to the analysis, an expert rider would not have been able to avoid 19 out of 37 cases. In 14 of the 19 cases, the AB would have contributed to mitigate the crash outcomes. 


This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article submitted for consideration in Traffic Injury Prevention (copyright Taylor & Francis); Traffic Injury Prevention is available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15389588.2012.725878