Our Commitment to Active Safety, Innovation,
Progress and Research

We are pioneers in the development of new technologies aimed at making people's lives safer, easier and better. In the field of test systems and ADAS targets for active vehicle safety, we are a globally recognized competence partner for our clients.

With our extensive experience and active participation in numerous research projects, we have successfully established a global standard with our products. This standard has been verified and approved globally by the industry. Below, we introduce our significant projects and highlight the scientific results associated with each publication. All of these projects are large consortium efforts involving experts from the sensor and automotive industries. These experts have significantly contributed to the evaluation of our high-end targets, employing a variety of sensor technologies such as radar, lidar, cameras, ultrasound, and near- and far-infrared. Their collective expertise ensures that our targets provide the most realistic representations of real objects like pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and cars for normative tests on proving grounds.

Our high-end targets have been incorporated into international standards (ISO, UNECE), laying the foundation for evaluating the safety of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) for both passenger cars and trucks. Our long-standing experience and leadership in numerous research projects have enabled us to establish a globally unified standard that is recognized and approved by the industry. We believe that by setting these high standards, we ensure that safety evaluations are based on realistic and reliable simulations, providing accurate assessments of ADAS systems. This not only enhances the development and implementation of safety systems but also contributes to a safer and more efficient transportation environment worldwide. Furthermore, our ongoing commitment to innovation drives us to continuously improve and adapt our technologies to meet the ever-evolving demands of the automotive industry. We strive to remain at the forefront of technological advancements, ensuring that our solutions remain relevant and effective in improving vehicle safety.

Our success would not be possible without the collaboration of our dedicated teams and partners. Together, we work tirelessly to push the boundaries of what is possible, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. As we look to the future, we are excited about the opportunities to further our mission of making the world a safer place through innovative technology.

Our international ADAS – Consortiums Research Projects

vFSSAdvanced forward looking safety systems2010-2012

vFSS – Advanced forward looking safety systems

The aim of the Working Group is the development of test procedures for driver assistance systems (in particular advanced emergency braking systems) in order to ensure a robust assessment of such systems. Ensure transparency with respect to legal requirements and consumer protection initiatives, incorporating harmonisation principles and accounting for related trade offs Focus on traffic accident priorities by means of an evaluation of the effectiveness in real world accidents, with the aim of reducing the number of road traffic casualties. Assessment of the technical feasibility (of the test procedure) and the definition of possible implementation strategies. Consideration of test procedures with respect to other assessments for both primary and secondary safety. Agreement on defined evaluation criteria (e.g. faulty activation rates, level of vehicle autonomous reaction,…).

13 project members

ASPECSSAssessment methodologies for forward looking Integrated Pedestrian and further extension to Cyclists Safety Systems2011-2014

ASPECSS - Assessment methodologies for forward looking Integrated Pedestrian and further extension to Cyclists Safety Systems

The overall purpose of the AsPeCSS project was to contribute towards improving the protection of vulnerable road users, in particular pedestrians and also cyclists, by developing harmonised test and assessment procedures for forward-looking integrated pedestrian safety systems. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems for pedestrians have been predicted to offer substantial benefit. On this basis, consumer rating programmes, e.g. Euro NCAP, are developing rating schemes to encourage fitment of these systems. One of the questions that need to be answered to do this fully is how the assessment of the speed reduction offered by the AEB can be integrated with the current assessment of the passive safety for mitigation of pedestrian injury. Ideally, this should be done on a benefit related basis.

13 project members

ACEA/CLEPAEuro NCAP Articulated Pedestrian Target2013-2015

ACEA/CLEPA - Euro NCAP Articulated Pedestrian Target

In order to support the development of the scenarios that are used for testing vehicle systems that prevent collisions with pedestrians, ACEA has joined forces with the automotive suppliers and test equipment providers to develop an articulated pedestrian dummy which can better simulate a pedestrian crossing the street. As a result of these joint industry efforts, Euro NCAP’s Autonomous Emergency Braking Pedestrian Tests will be conducted under even more realistic conditions. Moreover, the parties that have developed the new dummy want to contribute to improving pedestrians’ safety by making their know-how publicly available in the ‘Pedestrian Target Specifications’ document, which enables anyone to build a similar test dummy. Please see below to download the file.

18 project members

CATSCyclist-AEB Testing System2014-2016

CATS - Cyclist-AEB Testing System

From 2018, AEB systems dedicated to avoid or mitigate passenger car-to-cyclist collisions will be considered in the safety assessment by Euro NCAP. To test such systems, appropriate equipment has been developed in the project CATS “Cyclist-AEB Testing System.” Moreover, the project dealt with setting up a proposal for the most relevant test scenarios. The objective of the project was to provide proof of the relevance of the proposed test scenarios and of the feasibility of practical implementation of the scenarios and test setup to Euro NCAP.

18 project members

PROSPECTPROactive Safety for PEdestrians and CyclisTs2015-2018

PROSPECT – PROactive Safety for PEdestrians and CyclisTs

A reported 25 300 people lost their lives on EU roads in 2017. Vulnerable road users (VRUs) accounted for almost half of these road victims, where 21 % of all people killed on roads were pedestrians and 8 % were cyclists. The work ahead, the PROSPECT project, set out to reduce these statistics by targeting the two VRU groups with the most fatalities: cyclists and pedestrians. “We sought to enhance road safety by significantly improving the effectiveness of active VRU safety systems compared to those in the market,” explains Ilona Cieslik, the project coordinator. By expanding the scope of VRU scenarios and improving overall system performance, project partners believed this would help them lay the foundations for the next generation of active VRU safety systems for cars. This should ultimately reduce crashes – mainly at intersections.

17 project members

MUSEMotorbike Users Safety Enhancement2017-2019

MUSE – Motorbike Users Safety Enhancement

Embedded collision avoidance systems such as Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems, Forward Collision Warnings or Emergency Lane Keeping Systems have largely contributed to reducing the number of car collisions over the past decade. Although those systems have demonstrated ever-increasing performance in case of imminent risk of collision against pedestrian, bicyclist, or car in recent years, most of them were not capable of intervening in the case of a motorcyclist. Since motorcycle crashes remain a major concern across Europe and for most of them are the result of collisions between cars and motorcycles, those systems were identified as relevant technologies to address this issue. In that context, UTAC led the MUSE European project between 2017 and 2019 with the ambition to promote motorcyclist safety through car consumer information programs such as Euro NCAP. As this topic was well identified in the Euro NCAP 2020-2025 roadmap, the organization showed interest in the outcomes of the project and their integration into the new generation of car active safety testing protocols.

16 project members

CATARCCNCAP Scooter Target Adult (STA)2018-2020

CATARC – CNCAP Scooter Target Adult (STA)

According to the statistical data , in China, the number of scooter accidents account for the highest proportion in the total number of two wheeled vehicle accidents, but there was no corresponding model available for ADAS test. In a joint project CATARC and 4activeSystems developed an Asia scooter target (STA) allowing to include PTW-scenarios in C-NCAP protocols closer to the special traffic condition in China. One of the outcomes of the project was the elaboration of a dummy specification document defining sensor-relevant properties for these kinds of targets. The document is the reference for the inclusion of scooter targets in the upcoming ISO 19206-5 standard (Road vehicles — Test devices for target vehicles, vulnerable road users and other objects, for assessment of active safety functions — Part 5: Requirements for powered two-wheeler targets).

18 project members

OASIMOverall ASEAN market Safety Improvement for Motorcycle2020-2022

OASIM - Overall ASEAN market Safety Improvement for Motorcycle

The OASIM project aims to improve the safety of motorcycle users in the ASEAN region by establishing active safety test protocols representative of the accident situations in this region. Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems, dedicated to avoid or mitigate car-to-Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) collisions, are being introduced over the last years, covering pedestrians and bicyclist crashes. The third group of VRU’s that have a high percentage on road accidents are motorcyclists. South-East Asian countries have a very higher rate of seriously injured death among riders of motorized 2- and 3-wheelers, therefore in the year 2020 UTAC initiated the OASIM-project joining forces of around 11 industry partners, aiming to develop protocols and appropriate test equipment helping to reduce accident numbers in Asian countries. Investigation on different representative real scooter models and considering internal and external measurement resources resulted in the design of the scooter dummy. The dummy is representing a real scooter object regarding sensor relevant properties like RADAR response, IR-reflectivity (LIDAR-systems) and visual appearance (Camera systems) but is a very lightweight structure to avoid damage to the dummy and the test vehicle in case of a crash.

15 project members

HEADSTARTHarmonised European Solutions for Testing Automated Road Transport2019-2022

Headstart - Harmonised European Solutions for Testing Automated Road Transport

The HEADSTART (Harmonised European Solutions for Testing Automated Road Transport) project is an EU funded project which started on the 1st of January of 2019 and will last for 3 years. The project consisted of 17 partners, under the coordination of IDIADA and Mr.Álvaro Arrúe, aims to define testing and validation procedures of Connected and Automated Driving functions including key technologies such as communications, cyber-security and positioning. The tests will be in both simulation and real-world fields to validate safety and security performance according to the key users’ needs. The HEADSTART project will bring together the consortium with other European and national CAD stakeholders to cluster the most relevant existing initiatives, develop methodologies, procedures and tools and drive in a harmonized European solution for testing and validation of automated road vehicles. Within the lifetime of the project, relevant stakeholders will be able to join the experts’ network so as to configure together the methodologies used and also promote the project results’ adoption.

17 project members

CPDChild Presence Detection Project2022-ongoing

CPD - Child Presence Detection Project

The Child Presence Detection (CPD) Project aims to enhance passenger safety by developing advanced dummies that simulate children of various ages within vehicles. These dummies help evaluate and improve in-cabin sensing technologies designed to detect the presence of children and alert users or third-party services, mitigating risks such as heatstroke from being left unattended in cars. The project focuses on integrating sensors and automated safety measures to ensure accurate detection and timely warnings, aligning with upcoming Euro NCAP requirements to improve vehicle safety standards.