Millbrook Proving Ground, part of the Testbed UK network, has officially launched its new facilities and equipment for testing and developing advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV).
The new capabilities include a secure test facility and a full range of equipment required for performing all Euro NCAP 2020 and non-standard CAV and ADAS test scenarios.
Researchers will have access to a 1.1km-long (0.7 mile) three-lane motorway and two-lane A-road test track layouts designed to Euro NCAP and ECE R130 specifications. It also has a junction marked out to the new Euro NCAP specification and 250m-radius (820ft) curves for testing automatically commanded steering functions (ACSF).
Millbrook now has the UK’s first independent small pilotable platform, LaunchPad, which is used to represent vulnerable road users (VRU) and powered two-wheelers (PTW). Millbrook also has a guided vehicle target (GVT) allowing vehicle-to-vehicle test scenarios, along with more complex scenarios involving a car and a VRU.
Thanks to the improved facilities, future self-driving tests will have a high level of repeatability, accuracy and control. Millbrook is capable of testing a wide range of vehicles including cars, trucks and buses.
Peter Stoker, chief engineer – CAV at Millbrook, said, “The addition of this new equipment secures Millbrook’s position at the forefront of CAV and ADAS testing and development in the UK. We look forward to making further announcements in this area this year.”
