TSS

From FOT-Net WIKI
Jump to navigationJump to search
TSS
SAFER logo.jpg
General information
Type: Naturalistic driving study
Tested system/service:
Countries: Sweden ? test users
4 partners 2 vehicles
Active from 2007/02/23 to 02/2008
Contact
TSS webpage and report
Trent Victor
trent.victor@chalmers.se
Chalmers University of Technology
Sweden
Catalogue entries
Data catalogue Tools catalogue
Data sets used in this FOT:

No data set is
linked to this FOT

Click here to create a new
data set or here to browse
existing data sets to link
them to this FOT

The following tools
were used in this FOT:

No tool is linked
to this FOT

Click here to create a
new tool or here to
browse
existing tools
to link them to this FOT

The TSS FOT project was carried out at SAFER for Test Site Sweden (TSS) by Autoliv, Chalmers, Volvo Car Corporation and AB Volvo. The project has built up competence, and evaluated and established tools (hardware, software and methodology) needed to perform FOTs.

Equipment, procedures, and methodology for conducting naturalistic Field Operational Tests (FOTs) were developed and tested. A small-scale FOT was performed in order to assess the full methodology-chain involved in an FOT: data acquisition, data upload, data storage, data search, and data analysis. Naturalistic driving data was collected from over 100 drivers borrowing two vehicles (a Volvo S80 car or a Volvo FH12 truck) during over 6 months.

Key technology-related developments include

  1. data acquisition system collection of data from the two vehicles (CAN bus, GPS, accelerometers, foot location sensors, video cameras, an incident button, and questionnaires),
  2. database development, and
  3. analysis software development.

Further, the whole methodology chain performed as intended and was verified through a sample analysis. The analysis process was illustrated by an investigation of why and where lateral jerks occur during driving.

The results were very useful as a source of knowledge and material for various situations. For example, Swedish actors in TSS FOT have gained a strong advantage in the project proposal phases for a number of projects – FESTA, SeMiFOT and EuroFOT as well as future FOT related projects. The ability to demonstrate the technology developed in TSS FOT has been instrumental in being awarded new projects.

Valuable competence and know-how was gained on how to perform and evaluate the effect of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on traffic safety and how to perform naturalistic driving studies. In addition to this, an excellent collaboration was started with University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). In sum, based on this project, Sweden has been able to take a central role within the FOT and naturalistic driving research areas.

Details of Field Operational Test

Start date and duration of FOT execution

6 months end of 2007

Geographical Coverage

Gothenburg area

Link with other related Field Operational Tests

FESTA, SemiFOT and EuroFOT

Objectives

The main goal of TSS FOT was to perform a small-scale Naturalistic Field Operational Test (FOT) to test the methods for examining the effect of selected Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on traffic safety.

3 tasks:

  • Task 1. Requirements specification and purchasing of equipment
  • Task 2. Instrumentation of Data Acquisition Systems and administration of data collection
  • Task 3. Data Analysis

SE TSS Methodology-Chain.JPG

Results

The project results are organised according to the steps in the FOT Methodology Chain. Results connected to the methodology chain are followed by results connected to establishing Swedish FOT activities prior to applying for large EU 7th Framework FOTs during 2007, as was one of the main goals.

Lessons learned

The FOT Methodology Chain was successfully implemented and evaluated during the project. A number of critical stages in the chain were identified that would require much more effort when running future large scale FOTs. For example, the data acquisition system used would require some extra work for adaptation to the project and the vehicles would need further quality assurance before using in large scale FOTs. Further lessons learned include those regarding specification of sensors, performance indicators and hypotheses, quality assurance and proprietary issues. Ethical aspects have also been identified as being very important to handle when involving human subjects in the test.

One of the project components that gained the most attention was the analysis software. Its design, flexibility and connection to the Matlab environment proved to be a very good solution for analysing FOT data – according to both project partners and external FOT actors. The COM-object providing direct access to the database from any analysis software was a rapid and flexible solution for this project. However, for future projects involving several hundreds of vehicles over a year, the data amount will increase dramatically. For instance a yearly driving duration of 400 hours for 100 cars would require about 8 hours of processing using the current system and – most critically – assuming linear scalability of the database.

The methodology chain needs to be complemented with detailed tasks for breaking down research questions, solving proprietary issues and other topics connect to an FOT. In any case, the chain will remain a backbone of any FOT. This is also evident when studying the proposals for European FOTs launched after TSS FOT; the methodology chain is central in FESTA, SeMiFOT and EuroFOT – in fact it is next to unchanged from the chain defined in TSS FOT. This should be seen as evidence of the large impact Sweden has had on forming the upcoming projects. TSS FOT has brought the necessary competence, publicity and position needed to become a strong actor in European FOTs.

Main events

SAFER seminar: TSS Field Operational Test which tool place 2008-04-14 13:00 - 17:00

Financing

Summary, type of funding and budget

No indication of level of financing or overall bidget - Funded through the partners and Swedish funding.

Cooperation partners and contact persons

4 partners within SAFER:
Autoliv, Chalmers, Volvo Car Corporation and AB Volvo.

Collaboration with UMTRI.


Main Contact person

  Trent Victor
  SAFER
  trent.victor@chalmers.se
  +46 31 322 66 51

Applications and equipment

Applications tested

Vehicle

Data was collected from the two vehicles

Equipment carried by test users

Infrastructure

Test equipment

Data acquisition were from Autoliv Development.

Methodology

Pre-simulation / Piloting of the FOT

See task 1 in report.

Method for the baseline

Not relevant for NDS

Techniques for measurement and data collection

Data from CAN bus, GPS, accelerometers, foot location sensors, video cameras, an incident button, and questionnaires was collected.

  • New software was developed for uploading data into a database.
  • A database structure was configured and implemented in software and hardware.
  • An SQL database search interface was developed and implemented.
  • A Component Object Model (COM) object was developed to enable multiple applications to share and retrieve data. This COM object enabled the analysis software to appear as one integrated system for the data analyst although it was comprised of different software (Matlab, Video analysis software, and database query software).

Recruitment goals and methods

Numerous drivers borrowing the vehicles during over 6 months

Methods for the liaison with the drivers during the FOT execution

Before the participants started their driving they filled in a questionnaire about their sex, age, living place, when they took their driving licence for cars, how many Swedish miles they had driven the last year and totally. For the truck drivers these questions were also asked regarding truck driving.

No further interaction was necessary.

Methods for data analysis, evaluation, synthesis and conclusions

Analysis software was developed for selection, manipulation, display and manual annotation of the recorded data.

Sources of information

TSS webpage and report

TSS public report