PRORETA 3: Comprehensive Driver Assistance by Safety Corridor and Cooperative Automation

Instead of a multitude of single assistance functions, the PRORETA 3 concept presents just two functional assistance modes: Firstly, the so-called Safety Corridor in the case, that the vehicle guidance is carried out by the human driver and secondly, Cooperative Automation, offering partial automation of driving in cooperation with the driver. In the Safety Corridor mode, the system has to permanently monitor driving situations and assess concerned potential hazards. As a result, the driver will be informed in the first instance, then in the next stage, a warning is given, and in the last instance, an autonomous collision avoidance trajectory is generated. Cooperative Automation is a concept of shared vehicle guidance. The execution of driving is automated; the driver interacts and supervises the execution, close to the concept of Conduct-by-Wire. The functional architecture of PRORETA 3 integrates concepts for human guidance as well as for (full) automation. A multimodal Human –Machine Interface provides information, warnings, and action rec- ommendations, if necessary, in order to make the PRORETA 3 Safety Corridor clear and understandable. A maneuver interface makes it possible to delegate maneuvers in the Cooperative Automation Mode to the PRORETA system. The traffic environment is represented by a Parametric Free Space (PFS) map. The Trajectory Planning uses a predictive control model applied on a risk potential field. The research vehicle was demonstrated and tested on a test track in Griesheim, Germany. The system acceptance and driving experience were evaluated by questionnaires. The overall assessment of the Safety Corridor, the Cooperative Automation, and the entire system reflects a high acceptance of the PRORETA3 assistance concept