Euro NCAP - For Safer Cars, Vans & Trucks reposted this
Lots is written about Euro NCAP - For Safer Cars, Vans & Trucks test protocols for #driver #monitoring #systems, but the EU General Safety Regulation #GSR also dictates developments. NCAP is a points-based system leading to a #safety rating from 1 to 5 stars, but GSR is a set of legal requirements to achieve #typeapproval #homologation. A vehicle without type approval cannot be sold in the EU, so compliance is a huge deal. The key document for Advanced Driver Distraction Warning #ADDW systems is 2023/2590. ADDW became a requirement for new vehicle types on 7 July, and is required for all Class M and N vehicles sold in the EU from 7 July 2026. Lots of #OEMs look unaware of what is coming, so let's dive in. Part 1, Sec 2.1. tells us: "An ADDW system shall determine when the driver’s visual attention is not directed towards the driving tasks and alert the driver through the vehicle HMI." Sec 3.2.1. tells us: "The ADDW system shall operate effectively during both day and night," while 3.3.1. tells us: "The presence of the driver’s gaze shall be monitored by the ADDW system in the areas of interest." Day and night operation dictates IR illumination, and in practice 940nm not 850nm IR to remove sunlight interference. An ADDW system must monitor driver eye gaze, not head pose, so vision-based #DMS is required in practice. In #NCAP parlance, #lizard movement must be detected and Part 2, Sec 1.4 "Gaze fixation points" lists the 14 zones where the system must measure gaze. There are only a handful of DMS suppliers that can achieve this accuracy in gaze fidelity to "OEM automotive grade." Tesla DMS doesn't cut it, so Tesla has to chose (or buy) one of the compliant suppliers. Soon. Like NCAP protocols, the ADDW requirements for GSR are not fixed. Point (2) states: "this Regulation focuses on warning drivers in cases of long visual distraction," and then says: "the Commission will ... adopt by July 2027 requirements which will follow the technological progress of ADDW systems. These progress include intermittent distraction [VATS], the assessment of types of driver distraction other than visual (e.g. #cognitivedistraction), driver’s body movement." These features are not a cakewalk, and indicate a requirements roadmap not many DMS providers can meet. This is a warning OEMs need to heed in their DMS procurements, and to be certain their vehicles are ADDW compliant. Buy cheap, buy twice. ADDW and NCAP OSM test protocols both focus on the same issue: Improving safety by understanding human behavior as it applies to crash risk. We will likely see some of the roadmap appear first in the NCAP 2026 #OSM protocols, but the fun begins when DMS requirements harmonize across the EU, NHTSA, and China. Research for the 2025 edition of Semicast's automotive DMS report is underway. Message me for a copy of the outline document and to receive sample pages from the May 2024 report. ADDW document: https://lnkd.in/ekbFZA8r