Session: 14-04-02: Reliability and Safety in Transportation Systems II

Paper Number: 141533

141533 - Validation of Targets for Use in Evaluating Haul Truck Collision Warning and Avoidance System Detection Performance 

Surface mining haul trucks have been involved in 54 fatal accidents in the United States between 2005 and 2021. Collision warning and avoidance systems (CXS) could potentially alert drivers of hazards and prevent accidents from occurring. To ensure the efficacy of CXS, the object detection performance must be tested with a reliable detection target to represent an object that could be encountered at a mine, such as a pedestrian, berm, heavy machinery, or light vehicle. Of the 54 accidents, 5 involved a pickup truck or passenger van. For reasons such as safety, cost, or convenience, it may be more desirable to use an alternative detection target in testing. The efficacy of alternative detection targets, when used to characterize the performance of CXSs, should be evaluated to ensure they do not cause any significant performance differences compared to using actual targets typically found in a mine. To address this question, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers conducted a target validation study to compare the detection accuracy of a radar-based CXS with four different detection targets, including an inflatable truck, an unmanned ground vehicle with sheet metal cylinder placed on top to aid in detection, a wooden frame wooden fixed with sheet metal to replicate the dimensions of a pickup truck (referred to as “box truck” in this paper), and a pickup truck. The first three targets are alternative targets that have been used in some other research studies to replace the fourth target which is an actual target typically found in mines. An electric truck affixed with the radar system was driven toward the target. A global navigation satellite system (GNSS) node placed on the truck directly above the radar sensor measured the location of the truck during the test. Using the GNSS device as ground truth, the error in distance (defined as the difference in distance reported by the GNSS and the distance reported by the radar) was measured for each of four targets. Data analysis showed the UGV having the most similar detection error to the pickup truck. The average error measured for the pickup truck was 1.077 m, while the error calculated for the UGV was 1.138 m. The inflatable truck displayed the least amount of agreement with the pickup truck, with an average error of 1.688 m. The box truck had the smallest average detection error at 0.922 m. Because of the flat sheet metal front, it had the largest radar cross-section of any target. This research offers potential substitute targets that could be used in CXS testing. CXS manufacturers and mine operators should be mindful of the targets they employ as alternatives when evaluating CXS detection performance.

Presenting Author: Matthew Girman NIOSH

Presenting Author Biography: Matt is a Mechanical Engineer at the NIOSH Pittsburgh Mining Research Division. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Materials Science and Engineering. Since joining NIOSH, he has been involved in research on collision warning and avoidance systems on surface mining haul trucks and electromagnetic interference in underground coal mines.

Authors:

Matthew Girman NIOSH
Christopher Jobes NIOSH
Yongjun Zhang NIOSH