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The driver will always notice the pedestrian

31.01.2014

Let's imagine a terrible but quite common situation: vehicles are moving along a residential area at low speed, but there are obstacles on the edge of the road - advertising poles, parked trailers, garbage cans, etc. - limit the view on both sides. Suddenly, because of such an obstacle, a pedestrian appears in the path of the car. In this case, the assistance system activates the brake system to stop the vehicle before it hits the pedestrian.

The braking system could have been activated because the pedestrian was equipped with a transponder, a combination of radio and transmitter that responds to certain signals, in this case, from the pedestrian identification system in the approaching vehicle. To determine the exact location of the pedestrian, the system measures the distance and direction of the person relative to the vehicle.

As part of the Ko-TAG research project, Erwin Biebl, a professor at the University of Munich, and his team have developed a new method for measuring distances that provides results with an accuracy of several centimeters within microseconds. To start the measurement process, the vehicle system transmits a unique code sequence. The transponder within range modifies the bit sequence and returns it within a precisely defined time interval.

Upon detection of an approaching pedestrian, the driver must be warned or the emergency braking system activated, even before the pedestrian has stepped onto the road. At the same time, the likelihood of hard braking without the need for drivers to recognize the system as reliable enough to use should be minimized. This requires a very precise motion estimation. In their study, the scientists were able to reduce deviations to a few picoseconds. "Thus, we achieved an accuracy of only a few centimeters in distance measurement," Beebl said. "Together with the coding method, this is the main reason for the high performance of the system."

The unique feature of the system is that it can identify other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists even if they are obstructed. In addition, this "interacting sensor system" can uniquely identify them and predict their behavior. Current driver assistance systems do not provide this.

"Transponders can be placed in clothing or in a school bag," suggests Beebl. They can also be introduced into mobile phones and smartphones - something that almost everyone carries with them at all times. This requires minimal hardware changes. According to scientists at the University of Munich, one of the major mobile phone manufacturers is already interested in the project.

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