Pedro Huertas Leyva

Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) was proved to be an effective and reliable technology in reducing serious consequences of road vehicles crashes. However, the feasibility in terms of end-users’ acceptability for the AEB for motorcycles (MAEB) still has to be evaluated. So far, only Automatic Braking (AB) activations in straight-line motion and decelerations up to 2 m/s2 were tested with common riders. This paper presents a procedure which provides comprehensive support for the design of new experiments to further investigate the feasibility of MAEB among end-users. Additionally, this method can be used as a reference for designing tests for other advanced rider assistance systems.• A comprehensive literature review was carried out to investigate previous findings related to MAEB. After that, a series of pilot tests using an automatic braking device on an instrumented motorcycle were performed.• The specifications for new AB experiments were defined (in terms of test conditions, participants requirements, safety measures, test vehicles and instrumentation).• A test protocol was defined to test the system in different riding conditions and with different AB working parameters. A proposal for the data analysis was presented.

La Estrategia Española de Movilidad Sostenible (EEMS) aprobada en Consejo de Ministros el 30 de abril de 2009 tiene como finalidad propiciar el cambio necesario en el modelo actual de movilidad, haciéndolo más eficiente y sostenible, contribuyendo con ello a la reducción de sus impactos, como es la reducción de gases de efecto invernadero y otros contaminantes, contribuyendo así a la lucha contra el cambio climático.
El Grupo de Trabajo de Automoción de FEDIT realizó un estudio en el año 2009, en el marco del Observatorio Industrial del Sector Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones, con el objetivo de analizar en profundidad el impacto que la EEMS puede tener sobre el sector de fabricantes de automóviles y camiones en España.
La presente guía tiene como finalidad difundir las conclusiones y propuestas del estudio de 2009 sobre la EEMS.
Esta guía ha sido elaborada por el Grupo de Trabajo de Automoción de FEDIT (CIDAUT, IAT, IBV, ROBOTIKER-Tecnalia y TEKNIKER-IK4).

The most common evasive maneuver among motorcycle riders and one of the most complicated to perform in emergency situations is braking. Because of the inherent instability of motorcycles, motorcycle crashes are frequently caused by loss of control performing braking as an evasive maneuver. Understanding the motion conditions that lead riders to start losing control is essential for defining countermeasures capable of minimizing the risk of this type of crashes. This paper provides predictive models to classify unsafe loss of control braking maneuvers on a straight line before becoming irreversibly unstable. We performed braking maneuver experiments in the field with motorcycle riders facing a simulated emergency scenario. The latter involved a mock-up intersection in which we generated conflict events between the motorcycle ridden by the participants and an oncoming car driven by trained research staff. The data collected comprises 165 braking trials (including 11 trials identified as loss of control) with 13 riders representing four categories of braking skill, ranging from beginner to expert. Three predictive models of loss of control events during braking trials, going from a basic model to a more advanced one, were defined using logistic regressions as supervised learning methods and using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve as a performance indicator. The predictor variables of the models were identified among the parameters of the vehicle kinematics. The best model predicted 100% of the loss of control and 100% of the full control cases. The basic and the more advanced supervised models were adapted for loss of control identification with time series data, and the results detecting in real-time the loss of control events showed excellent performance as well as with the supervised models. The study showed that expert riders may maintain stability under dynamic conditions that normally lead less skilled riders to a loss of control or falling events. The best decision thresholds of the most relevant kinematic parameters to predict loss of control have been defined. The thresholds of parameters that typically characterize the loss of control such as the yaw rate and front-wheel lock duration were dependent on the rider skill levels. The peak-to-root-mean-square ratio of roll acceleration was the most robust parameter for identifying loss of control among all skill levels.

Objective: The number of e-bike users has increased significantly over the past few years and with it the associated safety concerns. Because e-bikes are faster than conventional bicycles and more prone to be in conflict with road users, e-bikers may need to perform avoidance maneuvers more frequently. Braking is the most common avoidance maneuver but is also a complex and critical task in emergency situations, because cyclists must reduce speed quickly without losing balance. The aim of this study is to understand the braking strategies of e-bikers in real-world traffic environments and to assess their road safety implications. This article investigates (1) how cyclists on e-bikes use front and rear brakes during routine cycling and (2) whether this behavior changes during unexpected conflicts with other road users.

Methods: Naturalistic data were collected from 6 regular bicycle riders who each rode e-bikes during a period of 2 weeks, for a total of 32.5 h of data. Braking events were identified and characterized through a combined analysis of brake pressure at each wheel, velocity, and longitudinal acceleration. Furthermore, the braking patterns obtained during unexpected events were compared with braking patterns during routine cycling.

Results: In the majority of braking events during routine cycling, cyclists used only one brake at a time, favoring one of the 2 brakes according to a personal pre-established pattern. However, the favored brake varied among cyclists: 66% favored the rear brake and 16% the front brake. Only 16% of the cyclists showed no clear preference, variously using rear brake, front brake, or combined braking (both brakes at the same time), suggesting that the selection of which brake to use depended on the characteristics of the specific scenario experienced by the cyclist rather than on a personal preference. In unexpected conflicts, generally requiring a larger deceleration, combined braking became more prevalent for most of the cyclists; still, when combined braking was not applied, cyclists continued to use the favored brake of routine cycling. Kinematic analysis revealed that, when larger decelerations were required, cyclists more frequently used combined braking instead of single braking.

Conclusions: The results provide new insights into the behavior of cyclists on e-bikes and may provide support in the development of safety measures including guidelines and best practices for optimal brake use. The results may also inform the design of braking systems intended to reduce the complexity of the braking operation.

Pedelecs (e-bikes), which facilitate higher speeds with less effort in comparison to traditional bicycles (t-bikes), have grown considerably in popularity in recent years. Despite the large expansion of this new transportation mode, little is known about the behavior of e-cyclists, or whether cycling an e-bike increases crash risk and the likelihood of conflicts with other road users, compared to cycling on t-bikes. In order to support the design of safety measures and to maximize the benefits of e-bike use, it is critical to investigate the real-world behavior of riders as a result of switching from t-bikes to e-bikes.

Naturalistic studies provide an unequaled method for investigating rider cycling behavior and bicycle kinematics in the real world in which the cyclist regularly experiences traffic conflicts and may need to perform avoidance maneuvers, such as hard braking, to avoid crashing. In this paper we investigate cycling kinematics and braking events from naturalistic data to determine the extent to which cyclist behavior changes as a result of transferring from t-bikes to e-bikes, and whether such change influences cycling safety.

Data from the BikeSAFE and E-bikeSAFE naturalistic studies were used in this investigation to evaluate possible changes in the behavior of six cyclists riding t-bikes in the first study and e-bikes in the second one. Individual cyclists’ kinematics were compared between bicycle types. In addition, a total of 5092 braking events were automatically extracted after identification of dynamic triggers. The 286 harshest braking events (136 cases for t-bike and 150 for e-bike) were then validated and coded via video inspection.

Results revealed that each of the cyclists rode faster on the e-bike than on the t-bike, increasing his/her average speed by 2.9–5.0 km/h. Riding an e-bike also increased the probability to unexpectedly have to brake hard (odds ratio = 1.72). In addition, the risk of confronting abrupt braking and sharp deceleration were higher when riding an e-bike than when riding a t-bike.

Our findings provide evidence that cyclists’ behavior and the way cyclists interact with other road users change when cyclists switch from t-bikes to e-bikes. Because of the higher velocity, when on e-bikes, cyclists appear to have harder time predicting movements within the traffic environment and, as a result, they need to brake abruptly more often to avoid collisions, compared with cycling on t-bikes. This study provides new insights into the potential impact on safety that a cycling society moving to e-bikes may have, indicating that e-cycling requires more reactive maneuvers than does cycling traditional bicycles and suggesting that any distractive activity may be more critical when riding e-bikes compared to traditional bikes.
Keywords
Cycling safety; Naturalistic data; Electric bicycle; Braking; Traffic conflict; Road user interaction

Thermal comfort of passengers and
drivers is one of the main concerns
of the automotive industry due to its
influence on overall comfort. Although
manufacturers have been introducing
air-conditioning systems inside the
vehicle for this purpose, it is necessary
to design seats using new materials
and heating and ventilation systems to
guarantee comfort in the passenger-seat
contact area.
To achieve this goal, the Biomechanics
Institute of Valencia (IBV) has a Thermal
comfort laboratory for automotive
seats, which can study the thermal
properties of the seats in a range of
conditions (from winter cold to extreme
heat) and can also assess the level
of thermal comfort. This laboratory
offers companies the possibility of
assessing vehicle seats that improve the
passenger’s thermal comfort, providing
an added value to their design.

Acoustic perception by passengers has been studied by numerous authors in the field of sound quality, since it is considered to be one of the most important factors in how passengers assess comfort in a high-speed train. In the railway industry, operators are currently studying the acoustic comfort of passengers using the conventional parameter referred to as A-weighted sound pressure level. However, recent studies have shown that this approach is not enough, and could be improved on through the use of psychoacoustics (the study of human perception of sound). For this reason, it has become necessary to develop a research project aimed at generating a model to predict acoustic discomfort in high-speed rail vehicles using psychoacoustic parameters. The model includes sound parameters obtained from sounds recorded in various passenger areas of the train (thus acoustically characterising the entire vehicle) and subjectively assessing the acoustic comfort through tests conducted with use...

Automotive Companies have to gather a holistic set of information regarding their products from their customers. In order to be holistic, the set of information needs to contain performance and feature oriented requirements as well as subjective criteria like sensory quality perception.
The purpose of the presented study is to define consumers’ affection on perception clusters and components in terms of its importance into the whole perception and its design factors such as shapes, arrangement, layout or color.
The paper presents the Identification study for perception clusters of a compact car interior with 139 probands. The assessment focus was on haptical and optical perception. Furthermore, the study obtained information from users and the retailers' by focus groups and generated a survey questionnaire evaluating perception of quality in interior components of a car. The sample consisted of 320 car users who responded to a questionnaire that assessed the effects of perceived product quality and overall satisfaction on car users purchase intentions. Moreover, the most important components for each perception cluster were defined and the most important attributes were evaluated.
Based on results, this work will help to develop a new methodology which allows to gather and to describe customer requirements holistically and to relay them for a customer orientated product realization within the Supply Chain of the automotive industry.

Resumen: Los ambientes laborales se ven con la necesidad de transformarse al ritmo que imponen los negocios y la tecnología. En este sentido, el Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia ha desarrollado un proyecto con el grupo PERMASA destinado a generar ...