PROSPECT

PROSPECT (Proactive Safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists) aims at developing a new generation of proactive safety systems to protect Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), with an emphasis on pedestrians and cyclists. PROSPECT’s starting point is a better understanding of relevant VRU accident scenarios (combining multiple European accident studies with urban naturalistic observations). Improved VRU sensing and situational analysis (enlarged sensor coverage; earlier and more robust detection; sophisticated path prediction and intent recognition) will allow the developed AEB/AES systems to act early and safe more pedestrians and cyclists. Advanced HMI and especially vehicle control strategies (combined vehicle steering and braking for collision avoidance) will extend the benefit even further to those accident types where the reaction time is still short. The functions will be shown in three vehicle demonstrators and one driving simulator. Finally, the test methodologies and tools developed within the project shall be considered for the New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) future road-maps, supporting the European Commission goal of halving the road toll in the 2011-2020 time-frame.