New test track for automated driving

New test track for automated driving

The future of individual mobility belongs to autonomous driving. Semi-autonomous assistance systems are already part of the standard equipment of modern vehicles. And this development continues. This requires the possibility of extensive field tests, especially in the area of ​​infrastructure. For this purpose, the existing test site in St. Valentin in Lower Austria was expanded by Digitrans into a test center for automated driving functions.

Swarco Road Marking Systems is on board as a cooperation partner. The experts for innovative marking systems expect this to provide important insights for the next stages of automated driving: "The technology required for autonomous driving is already used in driver assistance systems. However, a lot of research is still necessary before private transport can actually function fully automatically and without human intervention," explains Friedrich Wiesinger, Team Leader Product Development at Swarco Road Marking Systems.

New test track from summer 2022

Marking systems play an important role here. They guide the autonomous vehicles over the roads and are therefore often referred to as “rails of automated driving”. Swarco Road Marking Systems is one of the world's leading companies in research and development. Collaboration with the experts from Digitrans in the area of ​​testing automated driving functions in St. Valentin is the next logical step. 

The test track in St. Valentin was built in the 1930s and is located on the site of the Magna Powertrain Engineering Center Steyr. In the summer of 2021, Digitrans broke ground for the expansion into a state-of-the-art test center for automated driving and automated freight transport. From summer 2022, the finished test track will offer numerous additional elements to be able to reproducibly test automated driving functions in a real environment.

Markings of central importance

Road Marking Systems plays an important role in the prominent partner consortium as the exclusive partner for innovative marking systems. "The aim is to further optimize the interaction of sensors for road and marking recognition. This is the basis for the further development of our products and the establishment of new standards, especially for the harmonization of markings in Europe," explains Friedrich Wiesinger. The newly adapted Digitrans test track enables the simulation of a wide range of driving scenarios and weather conditions, for example using an outdoor sprinkler system. This means that all conceivable conditions can be tested with regard to the recognition and legibility of the marking systems, even under different rain intensities.

“In order to be used efficiently in real life, autonomous vehicle systems must be able to operate in any weather and function absolutely safely,” says the expert and managing director of Digitrans GmbH, Eva Tatschl-Unterberger.