Euro NCAP approves the LaunchPad Spin
Euro NCAP approves the LaunchPad Spin, an ADAS target platform, for official testing
‘Turn on the spot’ capability accurately replicates pedestrian behaviour
AB Dynamics supplies a range of approved target and propulsion solutions for car, motorcycle and pedestrian test scenarios.
Bradford on Avon, UK, 15th April 2024… AB Dynamics’ LaunchPad Spin™, its highly manoeuvrable ADAS target platform, has been approved for use in official testing by Euro NCAP. It is the latest addition to the company’s growing range of officially listed test equipment, providing approved target and propulsion solutions for car, motorcycle and pedestrian test scenarios.
“We are delighted to announce our LaunchPad Spin has been approved by Euro NCAP for official testing,” said Dr Andrew Pick, Business Director, Track Test Systems at AB Dynamics. “The Spin is the most manoeuvrable target platform on the market and its agility is essential in accurately replicating the motion of VRUs (Vulnerable Road Users). As sensor systems and testing become increasingly sophisticated, the Spin’s mobility helps to future-proof it as the testing landscape will continue to rapidly evolve.”
The LaunchPad Spin has the flexibility to carry a range of VRU targets, such as pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooters and animals. It is compatible with the Soft Pedestrian 360™ offering a fully-approved pedestrian target and propulsion combination.
The platform can travel at speeds up to 30 km/h and accelerate at 3 m/s2 and features torque vectoring driven wheels and a precision-steered front wheel that can continuously rotate through 360 degrees. Coming to a ‘turn on the spot’ move, the steering rotates from 0-90 degrees in 0.2 seconds to guide the nose of the platform through the arc of spin and present near-zero resistance to the torque vectoring of the drive motors.
This combination provides the Spin with market-leading manoeuvrability to accurately represent pedestrians making sudden changes in direction that give a driver or AEB system little time to react. For example, a pedestrian rapidly changing direction to walk back across a road, or a child slaloming between parked cars. By accurately replicating the behaviour of pedestrians, it expands the testing envelope to cover increasingly complex, dynamic and realistic scenarios.
The LaunchPad Spin uses AB Dynamics’ latest RC software, which is common across the company’s track testing products. It offers complete freedom in positioning, rapid reset and replay of scenarios and enables coordination of all test objects, including the vehicle under test and targets, to an accuracy of 2cm.
Its high-capacity hot-swappable battery system enables a full day of testing at pedestrian speeds on a single charge. The chassis has a tapered teardrop shape to reduce radar cross-section and can be driven over by a 44-tonne truck, making it compatible with heavy commercial vehicle testing.
The Spin sits inside the company’s extensive portfolio of Euro NCAP-approved propulsion systems, which encompass the SPT belt-driven platform and the LaunchPad 50, 60, 80 and Spin for VRU testing, as well as the GST 100 and GST 120 for car testing. The platforms are complimented by a Euro NCAP-approved range of targets from sister company DRI, which includes the Soft Car 360™, Soft Motorcycle 360™ and the Soft Pedestrian 360.
The LaunchPad Spin will be demonstrated at the JSAE Annual Congress in Yokohama, Japan (Booth 75) between 22nd-24th May and the Automotive Testing Expo Europe in Stuttgart, Germany (Booth 8634) between 4th-6th June.