Open access virtual testing protocols for enhanced road users safety

Project Information

VIRTUAL

Grant agreement ID: 768960

DOI

10.3030/768960

Project closed

EC signature date 24 April 2018

Start date 1 June 2018

End date 30 November 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 6 997 943,75

EU contribution

€ 6 997 843,75

Coordinated by

STATENS VAG- OCH TRANSPORTFORSKNINGSINSTITUT
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VIRTUAL (Open access virtual testing protocols for enhanced road users safety)

Reporting period: 2021-06-01 to 2022-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The objective of the VIRTUAL project has been to improve the safety of urban road users by providing procedures and open access tools to assess the benefit of novel safety systems. The goal has been to establish a European based global hub for Open Source (OS) Virtual Testing (VT), freely accessible on the internet, and to demonstrate its success in traffic safety.
The VIRTUAL project envisaging that by 2030, models of both the female and male parts of the population will be included in safety assessments of new vehicles. This will increase robustness of safety features assessments and consequently reduce loss of life and health in the society due to vehicle related crashes. Currently, the average male is the norm representing the whole adult population in both physical and virtual testing.
In the assessment of road user and vehicle occupant safety, physical testing is limited to a few scenarios. VT offers an opportunity to identify best safety performances by introducing a wider range of test scenarios. The VIRTUAL project has addressed:
(1) Impact scenarios relevant to present and future road traffic safety assessment
(2) Development of tools and protocols for the assessment of crash safety systems and protective equipment, including cost-benefit analysis
(3) The need for an open internet-based platform, OpenVT, to share knowledge and tools to foster the uptake of Virtual Testing
One aim of the VIRTUAL project has been to develop OS Human Body Models (OS-HBMs) of both men and women in a scalable format, representing different statures and postures of car occupants, Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) and users of public transport.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

A European based global hub for OS VT, the OpenVT platform, has been developed and launched.
The OS-HBMs, the VIVA+ 50F and 50M, as seated occupants and standing persons, have been developed together with an OS ecosystem. The VIVA+ models are available as car occupants, pedestrians, cyclists and standing occupants on public transport. Furthermore, models of an OS child seat and two vehicle seats have been developed. In addition, tools for VRUs in the VT chain have been both developed and demonstrated. Besides creating a simplified front of a passenger vehicle and a tram, the interior of a public transport vehicle and a bicycle were created.
Various content has been uploaded on the OpenVT platform (https://virtual.openvt.eu) including VIRTUAL results and relevant content developed outside of the VIRTUAL project. The platform fulfils its functionality as a hub for tools and models related to VT and is attracting a growing number of users. The platform not only provides the models, but also complements other approaches, with guidelines on how to implement new scenarios in test procedures.
The VIVA+ models have been designed to be optimised for morphing into different anthropometries and postures. They are validated for a wide range of load cases and have been developed to be robust for various applications. Guidelines for positioning and related metadata files have been developed.
The Seat Evaluation Tool (SET) of both an average female (50F) and average male (50M) has been developed. This tool is a vital component in the VT chain in the rear impact use case. Together with the seated VIVA+ 50F and 50 M, the SET forms the basis for a future VT procedure where physical tests are used to ensure that the FE-models of vehicle seats are valid, and virtual simulations can confirm robust crash protection for a range of conditions with varying occupant properties and crash characteristics.
For VRUs, the most relevant injury types have been identified and compared to current assessments. A method to close the gap between active and passive VRU safety assessments was designed and applied in several use cases covering passenger cars and trams.
Regarding safety for users of public transport, volunteer tests for identifying strategies to maintain balance as standing occupants on public transport have been performed. Furthermore, identification of different balancing strategies for erect passengers while travelling, has been carried out
Tools for cost-benefit analysis of innovative automotive safety systems based on VT have been provided on the OpenVT platform and applied to VRU and occupant use cases.
Social media accounts have been up and running at Twitter, LinkedIn page and group.
On the VIRTUAL website, projectvirtual.eu seven pages of news have been generated. Eleven newsletters have been created and sent, and an animated project video, describing the main features of the VIRTUAL project, has been created and published the VIRTUAL website, https://projectvirtual.eu/2022/09/19/virtual-animated-project-video/.
The project has reached 13,300 unique websites visitors. LinkedIn has been updated 80+ times (including reposts). Seventeen project videos have been created (available on YouTube). The VIRTUAL project has been mentioned in the press around 60 times. In addition, 33 scientific publications, 26 presentations and 25 other communication activities (such as workshops, featuring in TV programs, etc.) have been completed.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The OpenVT Organisation (OVTO) has been established and registered as an independent non-profit association, ovto.org in Switzerland. OVTOs’ ambition is to host OS projects related to virtual testing and biomechanics on the OpenVT platform.
The VIVA+ 50F and 50M models represent a wider range of the population than has been available. As a result of that no state-of-the art human body model representing the average female was available before VIRTUAL, it was not possible to assess the safety of females and males equally.
The VIVA+ 50F and 50M models were developed using an identical source of data for females and males regarding anthropometry and derived both from one baseline FE model. This is of importance when investigating reasons for differences in injury protection for females and males.
The seated VIVA+ 50F and 50M are accompanied by SET 50F and 50M for the low severity rear impact use case. The combination of the physical validation testing and the VIVA+ models provide a unique new VT chain that will allow us to investigate the potential for improved safety system robustness, both regarding differences in accident conditions and gender.
The OpenVT platform with all its open content provides a starting point for the usage of VT in the assessment of road user safety. To date, using VT in safety assessments has not been implemented. Thus, there is a need for a specific approach demonstrating the capabilities of VT. VIRTUAL is contributing towards the implementation of such measures in consumer information, such as the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) and regulatory testing.

Before and after VIRTUAL