The aim of the ATTENTION project is to develop a method for predicting injuries to vulnerable road users (VRU) such as pedestrians or cyclists in real time. With the help of data-driven procedures and digital human models, video data from vehicles and virtual tests are used to determine a situation-specific risk of injury. In the future, injury prediction could help to ensure safe and efficient transport thanks to risk minimization strategies for automated vehicles.

Key achievements as a result of the project include putting in place a position and movement database for pedestrians and cyclists. Data from Bosch accident research are analyzed and used as a basis for biomechanical and AI-based movement prediction. Finite-element crash simulations then provide potential injury patterns, which are compared with real accident data and stored in an additional collision and injury database. The results of the crash simulations serve as training data and lay the foundation for an AI prediction of situation-specific injury values, from which an injury risk index is derived. Based on the injury risk index, further measures will be defined, such as an adaptation of the driving behavior. A virtual demonstrator has been set up for the project.

Fraunhofer EMI focuses on VRU-car-impact simulations

Fraunhofer EMI will contribute to the development of the collision and injury database as part of the ATTENTION project and is represented by the Human Body Dynamics  and Digital Engineering groups. Their expertise in the areas of finite-element analysis, vehicle crash simulation, application of human models, injury biomechanics as well as data analysis will be used to address multiple challenges at the interface between simulation-based training data generation and optimization and the use of AI methods in close cooperation with the partner QualityMinds.