New Child-Friendly Test System for ADAS Development

AB Dynamics, a leading company in the UK, has collaborated with its US sister company Dynamic Research Inc (DRI) to develop a child version of its popular pedestrian ADAS target, the Soft Pedestrian 360. This innovative ADAS test system is designed to address the increasing need for child pedestrian evaluation using radar, lidar, and cameras while emphasizing realism and minimizing test downtime.

The new child target, built with the same modular architecture as the adult version, focuses on reducing damage to the test vehicle. By decreasing the mass of individual components that could potentially contact the vehicle and cause harm, the child target ensures enhanced safety during testing. Additionally, servos controlling the articulating legs are encased in foam within each component, eliminating any exposed hard points that could damage the test vehicle upon impact.

According to Jordan Silberling, General Manager of DRI, "The demand for child pedestrian targets in Euro NCAP test scenarios is on the rise. By leveraging the success of the adult Soft Pedestrian 360, we have developed a child target that aligns with these test requirements, offering the same proven architecture and technology." Silberling emphasized the importance of minimizing downtime during testing sessions to enhance efficiency and reduce overall testing costs.

The child target's design allows for quick and easy assembly, with limbs attaching to the body via foam blocks that engage corresponding sockets in the torso. This design feature enables rapid changes to the leg sub-assembly, enhancing the target's durability and minimizing test interruptions. The use of hard-wearing fabric clothing ensures the target maintains its shape throughout testing and can be easily replaced if damaged.

To ensure the target's realism, DRI conducted extensive on-track testing, fine-tuning the reflectivity of the target using radar and lidar measurement systems. The target's age-specific gait replicates that of a walking child and is synchronized with the target's movement relative to the ADAS platform carrying it. This synchronization ensures a realistic gait that accurately represents a child pedestrian to sensor perception systems.