AEB Test Equipment

February 1, 2016

Ryan Gehm

The Strikeable Surrogate Vehicle (SSV) is the new test system that NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) will be using to test Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems in the U.S. As of 2018 the U.S. NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) will be adopting AEB as a recommended safety technology in the assessment criteria for all new vehicles. In the test, the SSV simulates a vehicle ahead, which is registered by the test specimen's assist system and triggers a braking or evasion maneuver. The SSV's main component is a carbon target that mimics the rear end of a car. Though the industry is still discussing differences in U.S. and EU test procedures, German crash test facility manufacturer Messring is already adapting the SSV to its own towing system, which has become the standard in Europe and Asia, it claims. In cooperation with carbon fiber specialist Wolf Composite Solutions (NHTSA's development partner), this work has resulted in a new hybrid solution that enables testing according to both procedures, and combines the SSV target with the advantages of the EuroNCAP towing system from Messring. Without conversion work, the user can switch between U.S. or EuroNCAP testing, providing flexibility in terms of the required test scenarios and preventing the need for additional space in the form of a track rail permanently installed on the test track.