powertrain engineering
A U G U S T 2 0 1 8 1 5
Eight months of preparation by
a team of highly skilled engineers at
AVL Powertrain UK Ltd. and the
knowledge of a global network of
experts all came together for one
critical week in February. It was the
longest ever UK ADAS (Advance
Drive Assistance System) highway
trial. On more than a thousand miles
of open roads throughout England,
Scotland and Wales, the very latest
in AVL’s level 3 autonomous driving
concept was put through its paces;
and the world was watching.
Until that moment, AVL had conducted
its tests on closed test tracks,
in computer simulations and on approved
test routes in and around
Coventry. Now it was time for the
team to take the technology further
afield. “It was the first time an
ADAS car had been driven around
the UK,” says Alan Walker, Engineering
Center Manager at AVL
Powertrain UK Ltd. “We were
learning about different road and
weather conditions, like rain and
fog, low sun. And we were learning
whether ADAS technologies
are mature enough to safely support
human drivers by taking over
driving functions.”
“This trial has shown us the limitations
of where you can relax and
where you need to be more involved,”
explains Matthias Wellers,
Managing Director of AVL Powertrain
UK Ltd. “We have to see
where the human is involved in
this, and where the limits are for
the technology to step in, or where
the human has to step in. When we
operate within our limitations it is
a pleasant experience, but we must
know where those limits are. In essence
we are building the technology
around human behavior, and
modelling human behavior using
the technology. All of this to maintain
driveability and the driver experience.”
The driving tour helped to shed
valuable light on this interface
between man and machine. And
by taking development onto the
open – and unpredictable – road
in this way, they managed to test
the system under conditions that
could never have been simulated.
“We were monitoring the number
of times the driver has to take
control of the car, which is called
system disengagement,” explains
Walker. “We had extra cameras set
up to record the conditions – for
example low sun during overtaking,
shadows and reflections. There
were some conditions where it happened
more than others – perhaps
every few miles – and in other
conditions we could go for long
periods without any system disengagement.
And we were recording
data all the time.”
It is in these instances, where the
unpredictable occurs, that the real
value is found. While AVL is a
world leader in vehicle systems
simulation, the varying landscape
and conditions of the UK provided
a variety of real-world
challenges
that couldn’t be modelled in the
computer. And it was these challenges
that made the trial a resounding
success.
As Walker explains: “We could have
done the trial in Phoenix, Arizona,
on perfect grid-like streets, with
perfect weather. But there’s no value
to be gained if everything goes perfectly.
Instead there’s much more to
be learned in variable, challenging
environments such as those found
around the UK. There were signifIT
WAS THE FIRST TIME
AN AUTONOMOUS CAR HAD BEEN
DRIVEN AROUND THE UK.
ALAN WALKER,
Engineering Center Manager at AVL Powertrain UK