Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Draft Research Test Procedures

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Draft Research Test Procedures

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Draft Research Test Procedures

James Clayton Owens
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
21 November 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64405-64406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25217]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102]
RIN 2127-ZRIN

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Draft Research Test Procedures

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Request for comments (RFC).

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SUMMARY: NHTSA seeks public comment on a series of nine draft research
test procedures developed by the agency to assess the performance of
certain types of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) available to
consumers. NHTSA is specifically requesting comment on whether these
draft research test procedures adequately, objectively, and practically
assess the system performance of the underlying ADAS in a test track
environment. NHTSA intends to use these draft research test procedures
to further its research goals by using the output from clearly defined
test methods to help better understand system operation, performance,
and potential limitations.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than January 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES:
Documents: The draft research test procedures described in this RFC
are available for viewing in PDF format in Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102.
Comments: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. NHTSA-
2019-0102, by any of the following methods:
Internet: To submit comments electronically, go to the
U.S. Government regulations website at http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: Written comments may be faxed to 202-493-2251.
Mail: Send comments to Docket Management Facility, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: If you submit written comments by hand or
courier, please do so at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
You may call Docket Management at 1-800-647-5527.
Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information, see the Public Participation heading of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Note that all
comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, to www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records notice, DOT/ALL-14 FDMS, accessible
through https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. To facilitate tracking
and response, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the
name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely
optional. All timely comments will be fully considered, regardless of
whether commenters directly identify themselves. If you wish to provide
comments containing proprietary or confidential information, please
contact the agency for alternate submission instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For research issues: Mr. Garrick
Forkenbrock, Research Engineer, Vehicle Research and Test Center,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 10820 SR 347, Bldg. 60,
East Liberty, OH 43319. Telephone: 937-666-4511. Email:
garrick.forkenbrock@dot.gov. For legal issues: Ms. Sara Bennett,
Attorney-Advisor, Office of Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
Telephone: 202-366-2992. Email: sara.bennett@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA seeks comment on the draft research
test procedures listed below, which assess nine different ADAS
technologies. As background, the agency develops different test
procedures for different purposes. Most commonly, those test procedures
are for rulemaking, New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), or research
purposes. This RFC includes test procedures that have been developed
for research purposes only. Research test procedures are used by the
agency to evaluate a technology of interest and, when presented
publicly, provide a basis from which gaps in test methodology or other
specific deficiencies may be identified and resolved. In contrast,
rulemaking test procedures are developed to support identified
rulemaking efforts and, if a regulation is adopted, focus on ensuring
that a technology meets the level of performance defined in the
regulation and are used by the agency to determine compliance. Thus,
the fact that NHTSA is researching a specific technology is not an
indication that it will now or at any time initiate a rulemaking
related to that technology or include that technology as part of NCAP.
To the extent that research does inform future rulemaking efforts or
revisions to NCAP, the agency will appropriately engage the public
through public comment and other means during those processes.
NHTSA developed the draft test procedures made available today to
research ways to objectively and practically assess the performance of
ADAS technologies presently available to consumers on certain vehicles
sold in the United States. NHTSA highlights that some of the research
test procedures included in this RFC are in the early stages of
development, while others are closer to being fully developed.
For light vehicles, these include:
Active Parking Assist (APA) \1\
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\1\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019,
August). Active park assist system confirmation test (DOT HS 812
714). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
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Blind Spot Detection (BSD) \2\
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\2\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2018, June).
Blind spot detection system confirmation test (working draft).
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Blind Spot Intervention (BSI) \3\
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\3\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, July).
Blind spot intervention system confirmation test (working draft).
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Intersection Safety Assist (ISA) \4\
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\4\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019,
September). Intersection safety assist system confirmation test
(working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
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Opposing Traffic Safety Assist (OTSA) \5\
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\5\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019,
September). Opposing traffic safety assist system confirmation test
(working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
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Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking (PAEB) \6\
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\6\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019,
April). Pedestrian automatic emergency brake system confirmation
test (working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration.

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[[Page 64406]]

Rear Automatic Braking \7\
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\7\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2015,
December). Rear automatic braking feature confirmation test
procedure). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. www.regulations.gov, Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0119-
0030.
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Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) \8\
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\8\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, June).
Traffic jam assist system confirmation test (working draft).
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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For heavy vehicles, this includes:
Forward Collision Warning (FCW) \9\
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\9\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019,
March). Test track procedures for heavy vehicle forward collision
warning and automatic emergency braking systems. Washington, DC:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) \9\
Each draft procedure includes test scenarios designed to emulate
real-world crash-imminent situations, all performed within the
controlled confines of a test track. To ensure these tests are
objective (i.e., clear about exactly how they should be executed), and
can be accurately and repeatedly performed, each draft procedure
contains detailed specifications pertaining to test conduct including,
but not limited to, the equipment, facilities, instructions, and
tolerances needed to perform them in the most objective and consistent
manner possible. While the procedures include draft evaluation
criteria, there are no pass/fail assessments provided because they have
been assembled for research purposes only.
NHTSA invites public comment on each of its draft research ADAS
test procedures. Specifically, the agency seeks information related to
the following areas of interest. In your responses, please clearly
specify to which test procedure(s) your comments apply.
1. Can the test procedures be expected to assess adequately for the
purposes of research, within practical limitations, the performance of
the underlying ADAS technologies? If not, please provide specific
reasons why, and suggestions for how they may be improved.
2. Do any of the draft research test procedures contain elements
that may potentially confound the system operation and/or test results
(e.g., regarding test conduct)? If so, please indicate what those
elements are and how they might be addressed and/or mitigated?
3. Are the draft research test procedures clearly written,
understandable, and executable? If not, please provide specific areas
for which clarification is necessary, and suggestions for how they may
be improved.
4. Are the ranges of test speeds, speed combinations, and/or speed
increments specified within each draft research test procedure
reasonable? If not, please provide any data or evidence to support any
claim of unreasonableness from a research perspective.
5. To reduce test burden for the assessment of some technologies
for research purposes, the number of repeated trials per test condition
is proposed to be less than or equal to seven based on our experience
from past test procedure design work. Is this adequate, or should
another number of repeated trials be performed for all technology/
condition combinations to support an assessment of whether differences
in the test results, for a given condition, are statistically
significant?
6. Are there additional ADAS technologies NHTSA should be
evaluating for research purposes? If so, please indicate what they are.
7. Are there existing, alternative test procedures for the ADAS
technologies identified in this notice that NHTSA should consider? If
so, please identify them and provide any comparisons/contrasts that
might be useful to the agency.

Public Participation

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

If you submit comments by hard copy and wish Docket Management to
notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed,
stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon
receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by
mail. If you submit comments electronically, your comments should
appear automatically in Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102 on
www.regulations.gov. If they do not appear within two weeks of posting,
NHTSA suggested that you call the Docket Management Facility at (202)
366-9826.

How do I submit confidential business information?

If you wish to submit any information under a claim of
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Office of Chief Counsel, NHTSA, U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have
deleted the claimed confidential business information, to Docket
Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. When you send a
comment containing information claimed to be confidential business
information, you should include a cover letter setting forth the
information specified in our confidential business information
regulation. (49 CFR part 512)

Will the agency consider late comments?

In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the docket are
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on
the internet, at www.regulations.gov, identified by the docket number
at the heading of this notice. Please note that, even after the comment
closing date, NHTSA will continue to file relevant information in the
docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late
comments. Accordingly, NHTSA recommends that you periodically check the
docket for new material.

Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95 and 501.4.
James Clayton Owens,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-25217 Filed 11-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P