Brake tests to evaluate the human behaviour at different brake pedal characteristics

Brake-by-wire represents the replacement of traditional brake components such as pumps, hoses, fluids, brake boosters, and tandem master cylinders by electronic sensors and actuators. The different design of these brake concepts poses new challenges for the automotive industry with regard to availability and fallback levels in comparison to standard conventional brake systems. In order to evaluate this, the behaviour of 67 participants on different brake pedal characteristics was investigated during a static vehicle braking simulator test. Participants were assessed on their response to the braking modes: normal brake function, booster breakdown and brake circuit failure. The interpretation of these results and designed driver warning approach fed into another study using a dynamic vehicle test. First results suggest that a coordinated driver warning and information concept adapted to the brake failure is helpful in bringing a test vehicle to a safe stop.