Testing of future mobility at DEKRA test track in Málaga, Spain

Surely you have already heard about connected & automated driving and how these technologies are getting us closer to future mobility. But when a revolutionary change is introduced, the process not only consists of designing and manufacturing products that will bring the advance to life. The key step that will boost or pause the innovation is to check that these new functionalities can work and be integrated into the real world as they are supposed to.

And here is where DEKRA comes on stage. We test and certify that products using connected & automated driving technologies function properly, safely and securely in any kind of traffic environment. These evaluations are complex, since the new vehicular communication technologies involve and affect the entire mobility ecosystem. We need to test, not only the product itself, but also how it behaves and interacts with multiple elements on the road.

At DEKRA we are committed to offering our customers the most trustable and realistic way to test their products and have a private field-testing area dedicated to connected & automated driving in Málaga, Spain. In this test track, we reproduce multiple traffic situations using different V2X communications systems and networks, as well as traffic elements like traffic signs, traffic lights, road cones, pedestrians’ simulators, vehicles, etc, to set up test cases adapted to our customers’ needs.

This connected & automated driving test track is located in a private area of 51.000 m2 with roundabouts, straight and curved roads, intersections, parking zone, traffic lights and signalling, and even a tunnel. These road elements combined with our laboratory, which is equipped with shielded chambers with 5G and 4G private networks, make DEKRA test track in Málaga a state-of-the-art location where we research, develop, test and certify the mobility of the future.

If you are wondering what these tests look like, we invite you to watch this video from our Malagá test track below, where you can see some demonstrations on how we test connected driving functionalities in our test track in Málaga, according to test cases of standards established by different territories.

As you can see in the video, multiple V2X scenarios can be evaluated at the test track for different regions: China, Americas and Europe. It includes functionalities that warn drivers of an abnormal obstacle in front, roadworks conditions or crash possibilities when entering an intersection, a hard-braking event by a car that is ahead as well as speed limit alert or broadcasting traffic light timing to drivers. These tests are combined with others executed in the labs, for example, to evaluate electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and radiofrequency (RF) parameters, and also cybersecurity best practices.

So, if you are still wondering why it is so important to test and certify future mobility, the answer is simple: we all want to live in a safe, secure and sustainable world. Imagine that a person is driving a connected vehicle on the road, trusting the assistance provided by the V2X technology, and suddenly he starts receiving unintelligible alerts that confuse him, or not in time alerts when a pedestrian is too close to the vehicle, or even false alerts corrupted by a hacker. It would bring serious consequences, not only to the specific driver, but it could also endanger the whole surrounding traffic.

Therefore, even when a new technology is designed to improve safety, it must not be taken for granted under any circumstances and without proper evaluations proving it is indeed safe and secure. And in safety matters, we are the experts. Our testing and certification services help building a safer world. In the specific case of connected & automated driving, we are pleased to support and contribute to the development future mobility that is safe, secure and sustainable.