PROVING GROUNDS 35
Hungary’s new facility
A new proving ground has been constructed in Hungary,
located near Zalaegerszeg. The 265-hectare facility
includes a dynamic surface, a manoeuvrability course,
and a brake test section with eight different surfaces, as
well as a 5-hectare ‘smart city’ that can simulate urban
traffic conditions. The facility is set up for testing most
types of vehicle, as well as AVs, and beyond the closed
facility, an agreement with Austria and Slovenia means
that customers may test vehicles on roads beyond the
Hungarian borders.
An interesting point is that the facility’s proximity to
the M76 smart road will be very convenient for testing
EVs, when the road is completed.
May/June 2020 • VehicleDynamicsInternational.com
AstaZero accredited
AstaZero, a facility in Sweden built to test
future autonomous transport systems, has
been accredited by Euro NCAP to perform
tests of active safety systems and
automated driving for OEMs. AstaZero is
now one of just eight test facilities in the
world to be accredited by Euro NCAP to
perform vehicle tests, and the company
says its focus on active safety system
testing makes it unique. Passive safety
systems testing can also be carried out,
through AstaZero’s collaboration with
the Italian laboratory, CSI.
AstaZero contains a number of test
environments such as an urban area, a
multipurpose road, a versatile high-speed
area and a country road. The latest
addition to the facility is a ‘Super Multilane’
area, which replicates a multi-lane road
and is the only one of its kind in Europe.
ATP renovates wet-handling track
ATP is working hard on restoring the optimum friction
coefficient for the surface of its wet-handling track.
Following several evaluations on a trial area, a process
has been developed that ATP says will deliver a desired
reduction of the friction coefficient, and this procedure is
now being applied over the entire area of the track, with
priority given to the skid-pad area.
NATC
implements
trail ratings
NATC (Nevada
Automotive Test
Center) in the USA
has developed a
methodology, named
the Vehicle-Trail Rating
Classification System
(V-TRCS), to quantify the
severity and conditions
of terrain at its facility.
V-TRCS quantifies the
severity of terrain and
the associated vehicle
capability using a 1-10
rating system, which
can then be used for
benchmarking and
comparing vehicle
platforms for
engineering and
marketing purposes.
Photo: Jeep
/VehicleDynamicsInternational.com