VW Group Helps AB Dynamics Complete Eight-Vehicle Swarm Test

Automotive test systems supplier AB Dynamics has put together a demonstration showing the greatest number of vehicles to be successfully synchronized in a “swarm test”.

There were seven automated cars in total, synchronized with an Ego vehicle (test car), on location at the Nardo Technical Center in Italy. They ran through scenarios including one-meter close proximity cut-ins, as well as 130 km/h (80 mph) high-speed runs.

All in all, 152 tests were carried out over 11 days, aided by a robust communication platform allowing AB Dynamics’ Synchro control system to accurately maneuver the test vehicles using dual-band IP radio tech.

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“These tests were much more complex than a Euro NCAP scenario which typically involves one target vehicle plus a guided soft target,” said AB Dynamics senior engineer, Leo Evans. “In the real world, interactions often involve multiple vehicles but running several automated vehicles in close proximity has challenged the industry until now, meaning human drivers were often used instead.”

“Unfortunately, human drivers, however highly skilled, cannot always produce the repeatability needed to thoroughly investigate system behavior, so electronic control is necessary to eliminate variation between tests.”

During tests, four of the vehicles were under robot control, two under drive-by-wire control, one AB Dynamics global soft target (GST) plus the Ego vehicle.

“As the automotive industry increasingly moves from ADAS testing and validation to full vehicle autonomy, the need to control traffic swarms reliably under different test scenarios will become even more important,” added the company’s sales boss Jeremy Ash. “The Nardo tests have demonstrated that we have the capability and all the tools in place to do this today.”