Zalaegerszeg Automotive Industry Test Track

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The construction of the Zalaegerszeg Vehicle Industry Test Track near the city of Zalaegerszeg, Hungary started in April 2017. Compared to traditional proving grounds the 250 acres large test track currently under construction will provide the opportunity not only for vehicle dynamics applications focusing on driveability and running stability, but also for performing research and tests for decisive future vehicle technologies such as electric and self-driving cars. The first phase of the construction will be completed in 2018, whilst full delivery is expected in 2020.

History

Since the mid-1990s it has been the vehicle industry that has been the leading sector of the Hungarian industry, resulting in more than 568 thousand vehicles manufactured in 2017. This number may further increase with Daimler and Audi planning additional investments in the country, and with the Government of Hungary prioritizing the further strengthening of the domestic vehicle industry.

Besides vehicle manufacturing, domestic research & development also look back on a long history in Hungary: several, mainly Tier1 level suppliers, such as Knorr-Bremse or Bosch have been active in the country for nearly 20 years. The increasing R&D activities of these companies have resulted in the demand for a complex vehicle industry test track.

The Government of Hungary decided on realizing a vehicle industry test track near Zalaegerszeg in May 2016. Consequently Vehicle Industry Test Track Zala Ltd. was established in the second half of 2016 as the company responsible for managing the designing of the test track, carrying out the investment, building up a relevant vehicle industry and engineering knowledge base, establishing the competitive operation of the test track, and building client relations.

The field preparation works such as geodesic surveying, soil mechanics examinations, explosive ordnance disposal, archaeological examinations, environmental analysis, and property agreements with the city of Zalaegerszeg, had been carried out starting from early 2017, and later in April 2017 the project gained prioritized status.

The preliminary designing and project preparation activities were also carried out in the period between February and April 2017. The contract, as a result of a public procurement procedure, was signed by Horiba-MIRA, the UK based chief designer partner of the test track and Főmterv Zrt, the Hungarian partner on 19^th April 2017. By the summer of 2017 the designing consortium completed the layout plan for the first phase of the test track.

The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the Zalaegerszeg Vehicle Industry Test Track, attended by prime minister Viktor Orbán, was held on the 19^th May 2017.

Objectives

The most important goal of the test track project is to create a complex and unique testing environment suitable for the full-range examination of self-driving cars, and also to enable the performance of related research & development activities as well as vehicle approvals, thus influencing the legal issues concerning self-driving cars. In order to achieve this goal the following objectives have been defined:

• Creating research laboratories and a simulation environment for research & development activities related to autonomous vehicles, in cooperation with the technical higher education institutions. As a result the region may become more attractive for development companies and more capable of retaining young workforce.
• Providing new test capacities to meet the testing demands expected to increase with the emergence of self-driving vehicles.
• Constructing an urban environment on site specifically for testing self-driving vehicles, and suitable for applying the most recent smart city solutions.
• Designing the test track as a special test environment which, by connecting the traditional test track elements enables them to be suitable for autonomous testing, especially for testing connected vehicles and platooning.
• Providing 5G coverage over the entire test track in order to enable V2V and V2X communication.
• Providing IT sector actors with the opportunity to test self-driving cars and install smart city solutions.
• Playing a key role in developing test cases for self-driving vehicles approval as well as joining in the legislation processes related to such approvals.
• Providing professional support for developing a regional road network suitable for public road tests outside the test track (Route R76, M7, M1).
• Joining in the R&D activities of the region in cooperation with foreign institutions (Graz, Maribor), and providing the possibility of performing cross-border autonomous vehicle tests.
• Providing multilevel vehicle testing opportunities, which include simulations, tests performed within the laboratory, on the test track and on public roads, as well as prior validation processes, and defining and examining special cases.

Steps of project implementation

During the first phase of the project implementation the elements most needed by users will be completed during 2018, such as the dynamic platform, the handling course, the braking test track, the main road sections connecting these elements, the first part of the urban environment, and the service facilities necessary for operation. The special oval track, the badroads, the slopes and the additional urban environment elements will be constructed in the second phase between 2018 and 2020, and furthermore the self-driving technological solutions will also be extended based on the existing experiences.

As part of the investments carried out within the frames of the project a public road test environment is also under way, that includes road sections of varying levels from suburban streets to motorways. According to the plans a smart city area will be developed in Zalaegerszeg, furthermore certain sections of the R76 expressway and the M1 and M7 motorways will be developed into test sections with a full ICT technology configuration. These additional developments will enable the full-range validation of self-driving technologies within the test track system and its joined public road environment in Hungary.

Track elements

The test track under construction near Zalaegerszeg contains all traditional modules typical for classic test tracks. These enable the performing of most kinds of vehicle dynamics tests. A unique feature of the test track, among others, is the constructed urban environment named Smart City Zone, which enables the testing of self-driving vehicles under complex situations in low speed environments. Nonetheless smart infrastructure elements will be installed around the entire test track to enable the performance of both classic and complicated self-driving vehicle test cycles on the interconnected test elements.

Dynamic platform

The dynamic platform (also called dynamic area, driving-dynamics area) is a special, contiguous, large-surface, asphalt paved element of the vehicle industry test track, which enables the performing of high speed vehicle dynamics tests under dynamic extremes and safe circumstances. The dynamic platform disc 300 m in diameter and consisting of multiple asphalt layers, as well as a 740 m long western acceleration lane will be completed in the first construction phase of the Zalaegerszeg Test Track.

Braking test track

The braking test track is a test section designed with special pavement elements and an inbuilt wetting system suitable for testing ABS, ATC and ESP systems. The braking test track at the Zalaegerszeg Test Track will have six different kinds of separately wettable pavement sections, all featuring drainage systems, which provide a wide spectrum of braking test options. The nearly 700 m long acceleration lane and the 200 m braking surface will enable the testing of long combination vehicles as well.

Handling course

The handling course is the section of vehicle industry proving grounds that provides the possibility to examine vehicle behaviour, vehicle manoeuvrability, and technical settings under controlled no-traffic circumstances.

The Zalaegerszeg Test Track will have an external and an internal handling course. The external handling course, designed for high speeds, will have a total length of 2032 m and a width of 12 m. Its straight sections and curve radius enable reaching a speed of 120 km/h. The 1334 m long and 6 m wide internal handling course will be designed for the same tests at lower speeds of maximum 60 km/h.

Internal road network

The main function of the internal road network is providing access to the various modules. The road network of the Zalaegerszeg Test Track is designed to comply with the public road standards as well, thus it provides the option to perform country road tests, and furthermore connects the various elements, which enables continuous passing from one element to the other without the need to make a turn. This plays an important role in performing special, longer run-cycle, traditional or even self-driving vehicle tests involving several elements.

High-speed oval track

The high-speed oval track is a closed track that provides continuous run in a given direction at high speed without the need for significant deceleration. The Zalaegerszeg Test Track will feature such an oval track which’s tilted curves will have a neutral speed of 200 km/h, at which speed it will be possible to turn even without holding the steering wheel, thanks to the geometric characteristics of the pavement.

Smart City Zone

The Smart City Zone is a special constructed urban test environment, which contains most road types, crossings and characteristic objects such as bus stops, building facades, traffic lights and signs available in cities. The various types of motorized and pedestrian traffic may be simulated with appropriate test dummies and fake vehicles. The urban environment to be constructed on the Zalaegerszeg Test Track will be the most complex facility of its kind in the world. Additionally to the elements listed above, cycle paths, roundabouts, tram tracks, low grip surfaces, wettable sections and parking garages will also support the necessary simulation for running test vehicles. Furthermore a full range of the most frequently used communication technologies including Wi-Fi based intelligent traffic control systems and cellular 5G technologies will also be available.

References

This article "Zalaegerszeg Automotive Industry Test Track" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Zalaegerszeg Automotive Industry Test Track. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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