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[EN] In heavy-duty vehicles, multiple signals are available to estimate the vehicle's kinematics, such as Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), Global Positioning System (GPS) and linear and angular speed readings from wheel tachometers on the internal Controller Area Network (CAN). These signals have different noise variance, bandwidth and sampling rate (being the latter, possibly, irregular). In this paper we present a non-linear sensor fusion algorithm allowing asynchronous sampling and non-causal smoothing. It is applied to achieve accuracy improvements when incorporating odometry measurements from CAN bus to standard GPS+IMU kinematic estimation, as well as the robustness against missing data. Our results show that this asynchronous multi-sensor (GPS+IMU+CAN-based odometry) fusion is advantageous in low-speed manoeuvres, improving accuracy and robustness to missing data, thanks to non-causal filtering. The proposed algorithm is based on Extended Kalman Filter and Smoother, with exponential discretization of continuous-time stochastic differential equations, in order to process measurements at arbitrary time instants; it can provide data to subsequent processing steps at arbitrary time instants, not necessarily coincident with the original measurement ones. Given the extra information available in the smoothing case, its estimation performance is less sensitive to the noise-variance parameter setting, compared to causal filtering. Working Matlab code is provided at the end of this work., This research was supported in part by the Agencia Espanola de Investigacion (European Union) under Grants PID2020-116585GB-I00 and PID2020-118071GB-I00, and in part by the Generalitat Valenciana under Grant GV/2021/074. The review of this article was coordinated by Dr. Sohel Anwar. (Corresponding author: Vicent Girbes-Juan.)

[EN] The safe use of buses by passengers travelling with pushchairs for young children is a mobility problem that has not yet been satisfactorily resolved. The lack of national and international standards in this area in the past led to the development of a research project developed jointly by the Universitat Politècnica València and the Universidad Politècnica Madrid (Spain). This paper shows a comparative study to evaluate the dynamic behaviour in case of low-g accidents reproducing frontal impacts resembling real traffic events (deceleration 2g, ΔV 20 km/h) of a new pushchair restraint system against the use of back-restraint by pushchairs as establishes R 107- 06 series of amendments. In the dynamic trials, three pushchair restraint prototypes and a typical wheelchair back-restraint system combined with two worst-case up-to-date pushchair models in misuse and correct use configurations were tested. The results demonstrated the need for preventing children injuries as a consequence of low-g accidents. The new design meets and improves the latest revision of regulation R107 regarding the use of restraint systems for the transport of wheelchair and pushchair passengers and represents an advance for pushchairs travelling on buses., This research was developed under the auspices of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation who funded the project ASUCAR (PET2008_0328) in the 2008-2011 National Research Programme. The development of the injury criteria used in this study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation who funded the project Children and Elderly Safety in Bus Accidents (CESBA/SANCA) (TRA2011-26313) in the 2008-2011 National Research Programme.

Buses and coaches are massive Passenger Transportation Systems (PTS), because they represent more than half of land PTS in the European Union. Despite of that, bus accident figures are lower than other means of transport, but its size and weight increase the severity of accidents in which buses are involved, even at low speed. In urban scenarios, turnings and manoeuvres around bus stops are the main causes of accidents, mostly due to low visibility, blind spots or driver s distractions. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in developing driving assistance systems to avoid these situations, among others. However, even though there are some solutions on the market, they are not meant to work in urban areas at low speed and with the sole purpose of preventing collisions with pedestrians. In this sense, the paper proposes an active safety system for buses in manoeuvres at low speed. The safety system consists of haptic feedback devices together with collision avoidance and risk evaluation systems based on detected people nearby the bus. The performance of the active safety system has been validated in a simulated urban scenario. Our results show that driver s reaction time is reduced and time to collision increased due to the proposed low-speed active safety system. In particular, it is shown that there is a reduction in the number of high risk cases and collisions, which implies a considerable improvement in safety terms. In addition to this, a brief discussion about current regulations for innovative safety systems on a real vehicles is carried out., This paper has been funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Spain) through the projects "Sistemas Avanzados de Seguridad Integral en Autobuses (SAFEBUS)" (IPT-2011-1165-370000) and "Sistemas de Conduccion Segura de Vehiculos de Transporte de Pasajeros y Materiales con Asistencia Haptica/Audiovisual e Interfaces Biomedicas (SAFETRANS)" (DPI2013-42302-R). This work was also supported by Programa VALi+d (Generalitat Valenciana). The authors wish to thank Jose Luis Sanchez Carrascosa for his dedication and commitment to the project and thank to Ana Isabel Sanchez Galdon for her valuable help regarding ANOVA analysis.

[EN] In recent years, the number of road-based studies using driving simulators is growing significantly. This allows evaluating controlled situations that otherwise would require disproportionate observations in time and/or cost. The Institute of Design and Manufacturing (IDF) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) has developed, in collaboration with the Engineering Research Group Highway (GIIC) of the UPV, a low cost simulator that allows rapid implementation and effectively a new methodology for validation studies of different roads through the implementation in the simulator scenarios of existing roads. This methodology allows the development of new scenarios based on the analysis of a layers-file system. Each layer includes different information from the road, such as mapping, geometry, signaling, aerial photos, etc. The creation of the simulated scenario is very fast based on the geometric design software, making it easier to consulting firms using the system that can evaluate and audit a particular route, obtaining reliable conclusions at minimal cost, even if the road is not actually built. This paper describes the basic structure of the layers generated for developing scenarios and guidelines for the implementation thereof. Finally the application of this methodology to a case of success will be described., Authors would like to thank Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) that subsidizes the research project CONSIM (PAID 05-2012).

This paper describes the automation of a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) and the embedded distributed architecture for implementing an Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) with haptic, visual, and audio feedback in order to improve safety. For the automation, original electric signals were conditioned, and mechanisms for actuation and haptic feedback were installed. An embedded distributed architecture was chosen based on two low-cost boards and implemented under a Robotics Operating System (ROS) framework. The system includes features such as collision avoidance and motion planning.

Annex III of Directive 2006/126/CE related to driving license procedure describe the minimum health criteria necessary for obtaining or renewal the driving license. If we focus our analysis in the musculoskeletal assessment procedure we can appreciate that there hasn’t been the same scientific and technological progression as other technical aids (Directive 2000/56/CE). This paper shows the results of a research program based on the definition of the joint mobility range and muscular strength done during driving process in motor vehicles. For obtaining the data it has been necessary to develop a battery of dynamic test that, with the help of electronic instrumentation, has allowed us the measurement of joint mobility and muscular strength of healthy drivers, with technical criteria that could guarantee their reproducibility. This joint mobility ranges can be applied for the fitness to drive assessment of disabled drivers in order to define the baseline during the medical evaluation in assessment centers.

[EN] The number of road safety studies that are based on driving simulators is growing significantly. The Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, developed a low-cost driving simulator for the assessment, training, and rehabilitation of drivers (SE2RCO). The main objective of this research was the validation of the driving simulator so that studies about road safety and highway geometric design that considered human factors could be performed. The validation was based on continuous speed profiles collected from 28 volunteers on a 30-km-long, two-lane rural road section. The same volunteers drove through the same road section built in SE2RCO. Speed data of 79 curves and 52 tangents were selected for the analysis. Comparison of the real and simulated speeds ensured the simulator's objective validity according to average and operating speeds. Two models were developed to predict field speeds from simulated speeds. Results showed that a simulated average speed lower than approximately 90 km/h was linked to a similar real average speed. For higher simulated speeds, the average speed in the real environment was lower than the simulated one. In addition, the actual operating speed was around 5 km/h lower than the operating speed in the driving simulator. Most volunteers assessed the quality and similarity of the virtual environment compared with the real world as medium or high and assessed the driving tasks similarly, thus achieving subjective validation of the simulator., The authors thank the Polytechnic University of Valencia, which subsidized the research project CONSIM-Desarrollo de un Modelo para la Evaluacion de la Consistencia del Diseno Geometric de Carreteras Convencionales Mediante Simuladores de Conduccion. The study presented here was also part of the research project titled CASEFU-Estudio Experimental de la Funcionalidad y Seguridad de las Carreteras Convencionales, which was subsidized by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Social Fund.

Issues concerning the use of baby carriages in public buses are still pendant of international legislation that could contribute to unify provisions around accessibility and safety on this type of transportation. There is actually a lack of knowledge round the dynamic behavior and forces involved in the movement of baby carriages when on board in public transportation services. This paper focuses on an analysis of the forces transmitted to the baby carriages and their behavior during normal operation and critical maneuvers by public buses. The article presents partially the results obtained from a research project conducted by the Institute of Design and Manufacturing (IDF) of the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia (Spain) in cooperation with the Institute for Automobile Research (INSIA) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). The aim was to establish the technical requirements for accessibility and safety of baby carriages (US) or prams (UK) in public buses that could help national and international community to develop standards and provisions on this type of people mobility. A series of tests with different types of baby carriages were carried out in public ransportation buses in closed tracks and open roads to simulate the behavior of critical maneuvers in urban traffic. From an analysis of the testing results it was possible to identify situations where restraint systems should be used, as well as the safest orientation and location within a bus for baby carriages, and enabled the development of a Code of Good Practice for bus operators, users, and baby carriage manufacturers. Furthermore, the analysis of the dynamic forces allowed the development of a new restraint device for securing carriages inside the vehicle s passenger compartment., The research project 'Accessibility Requirements and the Safe Use of Baby Carriages in Public Buses' (ASUCAR), has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PET2008_0328) during 2008-2011 National Research Program. Our acknowledgement also to the Public Transportation Operators of Madrid and Valencia (Spain) for their contribution and collaboration in the development of the practical trials scheduled in the project, and Mothercare, Chicco shops, El Corte Ingles and Carrefour for their cooperation for facilitating the material for in situ test with baby carriages.