Scenario Regeneration using a Hardware-in-the-loop Simulation Platform to Study ABS and ESC Performance Benefits

This study was performed to showcase the possible applications of the Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation environment developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to test heavy truck crash avoidance safety systems. In this study, the HIL simulation environment was used to recreate a simulation of an actual accident scenario involving a single tractor semi-trailer combination. The scenario was then simulated with and without an antilock brake system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) system to investigate the crash avoidance potential afforded by the tractor equipped with the safety systems. The crash scenario was interpreted as a path-following problem, and three possible driver intended paths were developed from the accident scene data. The driver-intended paths were set up in the HIL simulation environment and simulated with and without driver model braking, ABS, and ESC to determine the potential crash avoidance advantages afforded by the systems. Results indicate that for the runs with driver braking, ABS offered substantial gains in stable entrance speeds. Adding the ESC system offered further gains for certain simulation conditions. For the runs without driver braking, ESC offered some performance gains for one of the simulated paths.