Centre for Automotive Safety Research

Project List

Analysis of pedestrian crashes for advanced protection systems and test procedures
Supervisors: Associate Professor Robert Anderson and Jeff Dutschke

Advanced protections systems to mitigate pedestrian crashes include airbag systems to protect against impacts with hard structures around the windshield, ‘pop-up’ bonnets and radar/image detection for automatic braking. Assessment of pedestrian safety is presently conducted using impact tests. This project will use two data sources to better define collision circumstances so that advanced protection systems and assessments can be better optimised to reflect real-world risks. The first data set consists of detailed information on 180 pedestrian crashes investigated at the scene in Adelaide, Australia. The second data set includes processed data on crashes from Australia, Germany, the US and Japan.

Design and build a GPS tracking module for measuring driving exposure
Supervisors: Mr Craig Kloeden and Jamie MacKenzie

Road safety statistical studies commonly require the use of driving exposure data.  Quality representative data on driving exposure is difficult to obtain however. The aim of this project is to design and build a cheap GPS tracking module that can be fitted quickly and easily to any vehicle. The module should be discreet and operate independently (i.e. not require any action from the vehicle owner) once fitted to the vehicle. The module software should be easily customisable to suit multiple research requirements. A secondary project objective is the design of several add on modules which extend the use of the GPS module.