Abstract
Cooperative vehicular communication systems have been identified as a key Intelligent Transportations Systems (ITS) technology for improving traffic safety, traffic management and provide Internet connectivity on the move through the dynamic exchange of messages between vehicles (Vehicle to Vehicle Communications, V2V) or between vehicles and road side infrastructure units (Vehicle to Infrastructure Communications, V2I). Before deploying cooperative ITS systems, it is crucial that their adequate operation is extensively tested, in particular for traffic safety applications. In this context, FOTs (Field Operational Tests) have been launched in the US and Japan and are under preparation in the EU. FOTs will allow testing under real conditions the intended benefits of this promising technology and its interaction with the driver. However, FOTs are not sufficient to test and optimise cooperative ITS systems given their high cost and time limitation that prevents a comprehensive analysis of subsequently added new functionalities. In addition, the participation of drivers in the public road network limit the FOT capability to test the active safety functionality of cooperative vehicular ITS systems under critical conditions. To overcome this limitation, IDIADA Automotive Technologies (IDIADA), with the support from the Miguel Hernandez University, is creating a cooperative ITS proving ground facility that will allow repetitive testing of the active safety functionality of cooperative ITS systems under critical and controlled situations, and under different operating conditions, including low adherence and visibility. To the author’s knowledge, the facility, that will be part of IDIADA’s 370 hectares automotive testing complex, is one of the first worldwide initiatives of this type. The testing facility under development includes equipped vehicles and roadside units with WAVE/IEEE802.11p cooperative devices, and a series of cooperative ITS testing protocols. In particular, testing protocols for the following cooperative applications have been defined: • Intersection Collision Avoidance (ICA) • Lane Change Warning (LCW) • Emergency Electronic Brake Lights (EEBL) • Head on collision warning (HCW) The protocols define the traffic scenario, conditions and cooperative communications requirements, tests, metrics and data logging following the initial developments under the EU FESTA and Safespot projects.
KEYWORDS – Cooperative Vehicular ITS, Testing and Evaluation Platform, FOTs, Proving Ground, Human Machine Interface.