Millbrook expands ADAS test facilities

Millbrook is expanding its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) test facilities. According to the well-known test centre, Millbrook has “the best facilities for testing these cutting-edge technologies in the UK”. In addition to modifications to existing road and test track infrastructure, Millbrook is reportedly making “a significant investment in high-precision instrumentation and soft targets that allow contact without damage”.

Millbrook’s facilities allow a wide range of controlled and semi-controlled driving scenarios to be set up on private roads and test tracks. They test systems including Autonomous Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Autonomous Parking and Lane Support, and those found in CAVs. The scenarios cover both prescribed tests, such as those found within EuroNCAP protocols, and customer-specific requirements. Much testing is carried out to customer-specified procedures for benchmarking and internal sign-off purposes. Active safety features help to increase vehicle safety by assisting the driver in maintaining their desired course, warning them of any potential collisions, and interacting to avoid collisions if the driver has not taken action; similarly, driverless vehicles have to interact with obstacles in numerous scenarios in the real world. Millbrook’s test facilities cater for both.

Millbrook’s data acquisition systems for customer’s ADAS testing requirements allow for all signals to be recorded and time aligned on a single data file, so no time consuming post-test data alignment is required. It is possible to record inertial and navigational parameters with 1cm positional accuracy. Distances between test vehicle and target, time to collision, lateral and angular offset errors, and data from any other sensors can all be displayed live.

“We are experiencing a period in which the motor industry is working towards greater change than at any point in the previous 100 years. Whether it is alternative powertrains or active safety systems and driverless vehicles, the technologies being developed today are changing the face of our relationships with transport. Millbrook is proud to be at the forefront of the testing and development work taking place in the UK to enable these technologies”, Darren Williams, chief engineer – Vehicle at Millbrook.