In Japan and in the United States Field Operational Tests (FOTs) have been introduced as an evaluation method for driver support systems and functions several years ago with the aim of proving that such systems can deliver real-world benefits. In Europe too, FOTs have been conducted at a national or regional level, particularly on speed support systems and lane departure warning systems. These FOTs have proven to be highly valuable. Recently FOTs have been identified as an important means of verifying the real-world impacts of new systems at a European level and in particular to verify that European R&D has the potential to deliver identifiable benefits. This Handbook is the result of a joint effort of several research institutes, OEMs and other stakeholders from across Europe to prepare a common methodology for European FOTs . It is also highly relevant, and it is hoped useful, for FOTs conducted at a regional or national level within Europe as well as outside Europe. For the purposes of this Handbook, a “Field Operational Test” (FOT) is defined as: A study undertaken to evaluate a function, or functions, under normal operating conditions in environments typically encountered by the participants using quasi-experimental methods. This means that it must be possible to compare the effects that the function has on traffic with a baseline condition during which the function is not operating. In order to achieve this, the participants’ control over or interaction with the function(s) has to be manipulated by the research team. “Normal operating conditions” implies that the participants use the platforms during their daily routines, that data logging works autonomously and that the participants do not receive special instructions about how and where to drive. Except for some specific occasions, there is no experimenter in the vehicle, and typically the study period extends over at least a number of weeks. The main purpose of this Handbook is to provide guidelines for the conduction of FOTs. It walks the reader through the whole process of planning, preparing, executing, analysing and reporting an FOT. and it gives information about aspects that are especially relevant for a study of this magnitude, such as administrative, logistic, legal and ethical issues. Another aspect of the Handbook is to pave the road for standardisation of some aspects of FOTs, which would be helpful for cross-FOT comparisons. It has to be kept in mind, though, that many traffic parameters in different European countries differ substantially. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting