General SPARC objectives
The switch from reactive active safety to preventive active safety created by the SPARC- vehicles will constitute a breakthrough in road safety technology by pursuing the following main technical objectives:
- Development of an accident-avoiding vehicle using a Decision Control System (DCS), which compensates driver failure probability (driver incapacity, dead man state, etc.).
- Describe and validate clear SW/HWinterfaces for automotive redundant control systems to combine results from other related European projects (e.g. PEIT, PReVENT, AIDE, etc..).
- Extend this concept of heavy goods vehicle to full tractor-trailer combination.
- Validate the scalability of the concept by transferring it from heavy-duty trucks to small passenger cars. Two validator vehicles will be built up.
- Describe a harmonised homologation path for scalable SPARC safety system.
- Ensure European technology leadership for x-by-wire vehicles.
The work was separated into seven modules:
1. X-by-wire
All actuators of the vehicle are controlled with electronical signals in x-by-wire systems. There is no mechanical connection between driver and chassis. This results in smart steer-, brake-, accelerate- and shift-by-wire performance of the vehicle. Braking and stopping distance are enhanced.
2. Architecture/Platform
To ensure the safe data processing of the environmental data and the driver inputs, a redundant controller platform, Dual Duplex ECU, is used. This architecture and operating system makes it possible to recognize and compensate occurring failures without compromising the running of the vehicle. If the driver’s wish does not correspond to a safe motion vector, generated by the use of environmental information, the Decision Control System (DCS) helps the driver to control and steer the car on the base of this safe motion vector.
3. Test systems
Future drive-by-wire vehicles show the necessity to test all sub-systems and software from the partners as well as the entire vehicles. The systems and the software components are tested in the lab. To test the vehicles a test bench for the heavy goods vehicles and small passenger cars were built up. Consequently driving tests for all vehicles on divers test tracks finalise operation.
4. Drivability HMI
The drivability of a SPARC vehicle is improved through a complete new Human Machine Interface (HMI). There are two exchangable HMIs using the sage protocoll: one with a sidestick and another with an electronic steering wheel/pedal box. Software monitoring is used to provide data from surrounding of the vehicle to the driver as well as important information of the vehicle subsystems.
5. Assistant systems
Sensors collect environmental data from the surroundings of the vehicle and the inputs of the driver. RADAR is used to detect objects within the long-distance range, a camera scans the immediate surroundings, and a GPS is used to generate reliable data on the absolute location of the vehicle. All three inputs are fused to a more reliable data set.
6. Small Passenger car
There are two small passenger cars (sPC) and two heavy goods vehicles (HGV) built up within the project to demonstrate the scalability of the system and its components. One vehicle has an electronic steering wheel in combination with steer- und brake-by-wire actuators. In the respective second vehicle is running with a side stick as human machine interface.
7. Truck-Trailer
The heavy goods vehicles (HGV) are one full- and one semi trailer which demonstrate two different concepts of trailers. The Full trailer is equipped with electro-mechanical brakes; the other is equipped with the next generation disk brakes. Both are equipped with a new generation of axles, in which the axle housing is used as reservoir for the air supply.
Results:
The European Commission confirmed after the Final Review in Papenburg that the SPARC project has achieved excellent results which are of a very high standard. The project has impressively achieved its main objectives. These objectives have been coherent with the European automotive safety vision. The reviewers mentioned that the project will strongly contribute to the next generation of road safety centric vehicles, automated vehicles and X-by-wire vehicles. Several highly innovative concepts have been successfully demonstrated.
The European Commission also considered that the project was managed in a very professionally manner. All partners exhibited high levels of cooperation and worked efficiently together under the coordination of DaimlerChrysler.
The SPARC project has developed very promising technologies with the potential to make a significant impact on road safety. The next step is to refine these technologies and introduce them into production vehicles. SPARC may be regarded as a key milestone in the development of, and deployment of, X-by-wire technology, ADAS and highly automatable driving systems.
Dr.-Ing. Armin A. Sulzmann
Project Co-Ordination and Project Responsibility
