The advent of ADAS features has unleashed significant challenges for the already overstretched test and engineering departments within the automotive industry. The pursuit of establishing trust between the human occupant and the ADAS-driven car ‘brain’ has become a paramount objective for OEMs and Tier Ones. However, the pivotal question arises when ADAS systems and sensors face limitations in accurately interpreting the true road conditions. It's this quandary that’s prompting a shift in priorities for automotive engineers, with Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulation increasingly dominating their wish lists.
All Levels of ADAS require complex validation
It's important to note that the testing and validation of ADAS features is not confined to the higher and more complex levels of autonomy. The mandatory introduction of Lane Keep Assist and Autonomous Emergency Braking in 2022, for even the most basic new cars and light vans on sale in the EU, meant every all-new car has some sensor interaction with the brakes or steering. More ambitious endeavors, such as NIO’s testing of its cars to leave the highway drive to a swap station, swap the battery and return autonomously are already being trialed in China. And if that's not enough, Euro NCAP now grades the performance of ADAS features, adding a further layer of pressure from the marketing groups that use the scores to sell the cars.
With so much talk of autonomy in our industry, the obvious answer might be to consider that the human is redundant and the testing and validation can be done offline.
The reality is that none of these vehicles will operate on their own and their behaviour has to be safe, comfortable and confidence-inspiring for their human occupants. Ultimately and before we even consider the impact (or hopefully not!) of other vehicles, it's the behaviours and responses of humans that remain central to the acceptance of any vehicle equipped with ADAS.
Having a safe, repeatable and cost-effective means of capturing this behaviour is leading more OEMs to wholly embrace DIL simulation. This unique form of simulation actively invites the varied and sometimes unpredictable actions of human beings, but within the variable-yet-controlled conditions of the virtual world. It allows an enormous palette of design iterations and edge cases to be assessed, even when no physical hardware exists.
For so many reasons, when it comes to a task as complex as ADAS development, the human aspect is simply too important to ignore.
Read the full article in the Spring 2024 edition of eMobility Technology International Magazine.
