PEGASUS (Project for establishing generally acccepted good quality criteria, tools, methods, scenarios and situations for the approval of highly automated driving functions) is a research project subsidised by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Energy (BMWi). The aim of the joint project is to develop uniform technical standards for the verification of highly automated vehicle systems, and to answer important questions concerning the safety and reliability of the systems. On 13 and 14 May, to conclude the research project,Daimler AG together with 16 other project partners is for the first time presenting the most important findings from the project to the German and international public in Wolfsburg.
The dream of the self-driving car has perhaps never been as tangible as now. In purely technical terms, all the conditions for it are in place. However, many questions still need to be resolved before automation systems can be used on a general basis and in millions on the roads. Among them are how the safety and reliability of these systems can be verified, when a system is “mature” enough for general approval, or what role humans will play in interaction with the technology. “Accordingly we played a major part in PEGASUS to help develop a state-of-the-art methodology that is accepted by all interested parties worldwide. This test methodology will help us to bring reliable and robust, highly automated vehicle systems onto the road for our customers,” is how Michael Hafner, Head of Driving Technologies and Automated Driving at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, explains the importance of PEGASUS for the secure future of autonomous driving.
Daimler is responsible for the central PEGASUS research sub-project “Testing”
PEGASUS fundamentally consists of four sub-projects, each of which covers an important topic area in the verification of autonomous driving and resolves the relevant questions:
- TP 1 – Scenario analysis and quality standards
(https://www.pegasusprojekt.de/de/subproject-1) - TP 2 – Implementation processes
(https://www.pegasusprojekt.de/de/subproject-2) - TP 3 – Testing
(https://www.pegasusprojekt.de/de/subproject-3) - TP 4 – Reflection on results and embedding
(https://www.pegasusprojekt.de/de/subproject-4)
Sub-projects 1 and 2 are primarily concerned with the definition of relevant traffic scenarios and the critical analysis of already existing verification processes for automated driving systems in the automobile industry. With around two thirds of the total project volume, sub-project 3 “Testing” is the largest sub-project in PEGASUS. Under the aegis of Daimler AG, its aim is to develop methods and tools for conducting tests by simulation, on test sites and in real road traffic.
“To appreciate the relevance of this sub-project, it is important to understand the previous role and current status of test procedures in the automobile industry. To date onboard driving assistance systems and active safety systems are tested over hundreds of thousands of kilometres in real traffic operation and in several hundred different traffic scenarios on test sites. If they show no relevant functioning errors, they can be approved. However, to establish a comparable level for highly automated driving systems, we would require billions of test kilometres,” says Dr Helmut Schittenhelm, PEGASUS project manager for “Testing” at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, and adds: “Only simulations with specifically chosen parameters can bring this down to an acceptable and realistic level of test kilometres on the roads. This means that in the future, simulations will take on a central role in test procedures and trials. Developing and establishing a reliable methodology for this is one of our main tasks in PEGASUS.”
PEGASUS was called into being in January 2016, following an initiative by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Energy (BMWi). A total of 17 project partners, among them many German vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, public institutions and technical colleges and faculties have since then devoted themselves to four sub-projects using a function called “Autobahn Chauffeur” as an application example.
One key element of the sub-project “Testing” was the development of a model for real traffic situations that fully describes all variations and influencing factors. These scenarios and the test case database were put together using the “Autobahn Chauffeur” system as an example, in close cooperation with the research institute “Forschungsgesellschaft Kraftwahrwesen mbH Aachen (FKA)” and the “Institute for Motor Vehicles at the technical university in Aachen (IKA). To this end, challenging situations were collated in this task package for PEGASUS, with systematic and highly precise measurement of the relevant parameters such as speed, directional stability or route conditions. In future test procedures, this scenario database is intended to ensure and verify that in the present state of the art, the Autobahn Chauffeur responds reliably and robustly in the interests of preventing collisions. The aim of the database is internationalisation in the sense of interfaces and a modelling language for scenarios, so that these can be collated, exchanged and compared.
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: Daimler
