June 23 – 24, 2027 | Bergisch Gladbach, Germany

Program,

Here you see a recap of the program of the 21th PraxisConference Pedestrian Protection 2026. As soon as the program of the 2027 conference is finalized, you will find it here.

Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Welcome
Präsident und Professor Markus Oeser - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute

Evidence-based Evolution of VRU Safety Requirements
Dr.-Ing. Holger Staack, Volker Labenski - AUDI AG
  • Potential for modernization after 2 decades VRU Safety?
  • GIDAS VRU-accident study
  • Comprehensive approach for effective evolution of safety requirements
Influence of AEB-Caused Pitching on Passive Pedestrian Test Provisions
Adrian Hellmann - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Influence on lower extremity injury risk due to vehicle’s pitching and diving
  • FlexPLI with UBM in non-standard tests
  • First analysis of dominant effects
Challenges in Developing Freestanding Dummies for Pedestrian Collision Tests
Dr.-Ing. Benjamin Härtel, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lars Hannawald - HTW Dresden University of Applied Sciences
  • Introduction to the Biofidel Dummy
  • Current Limitations of Existing Pedestrian Test Systems
  • Technical Challenges in Developing a Freestanding Dummy
  • Validation Concept and Evaluation Methodology
  • Outlook and Future Development Potential
Euro NCAP VRU 2026 ADAS Assessments – Increased Challenges
Boris Terfurth, Adrian Hellmann - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Changes in testing and assessment
  • Detailed look into the new scenarios
  • Prediction, verification, robustness layers
  • Truck VRU safety testing
Bus Transfer to BASt
End of Conference Day 1

 

Thursday, June 18, 2026
HBM Virtual Testing Procedures for VRUs – Activities within the EU-Project IMPROVA
Dr.-Ing. Andre Eggers - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Ideas for an HBM-based VT procedure for test and assessment of VRU impacts against passenger cars
  • Improvement of pedestrian HBMs to address long-term consequence injuries
  • Approaches for validation of a vehicle front-end simulation model to be used in a VT pedestrian safety assessment procedure
The Frontend Geometry as a Potential Determining Factor for Impact Kinematics and Injury Severity of Pedestrians
Oliver Zander - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Research question
  • Methods and Results
  • To Do's
New Challenges for Pedestrian Protection Posed by Supercars
Andy Alter - TÜV Rheinland Kraftfahrt GmbH
  • Type approval
  • Possible evaluation of not measurable attributes
  • Increased risk of injury because of the design of the vehicle
  • Small series
aPLI Round Robin – Update
Björn Hohage - AUDI AG
  • Update of the presentation from 2025
  • Execution of comparative tests in 6 laboratories with 13 different impactors on a generalized test frame
  • Preparation of the test results with regard to the current Euro NCAP evaluation scheme
  • Preliminary investigations into the causes of the scatter observed
Robust Impactor, Unstable Rating – Why the (Euro) NCAP aPLI Scoring is not Robust Enough
Jan Wilsmann - BMW AG
  • Classification of current experiences with the aPLI in the context of (Euro) NCAP assessment
  • Integration of round-robin and vehicle test experiences
  • Relevance of the results for vehicle development and target achievement
  • Open issues and questions for future assessment approaches
Adaptability Assessment under Vehicle Braking Attitude (C-NCAP 2027)
Yuanjin Pei - CATARC - China Automotive Technology & Research Center
  • Motivation
  • Determination of key parameters
  • Reproducing the braking attitude
  • Validation and test trend
Euro NCAP Pedestrian Protection: Challenges for Manufacturers and Testing Organizations
Volker Sandner - ADAC Technik Zentrum Landsberg
  • Impactors
  • Assessment criteria
  • Test matrix / test layers
Analysis of Windshield Impact Tests based on Criteria for Atypical Fracture Behavior
Dany Tapigue - Ford-Werke GmbH; Peter Lessmann - BGS Böhme & Gehring GmbH
  • The Regulatory Framework for Windscreen Head Impacts
  • Technical Limitations in Tests Data Acquisition and Processing
  • Dataset and Tests Results Overview
  • Correlation Between Fracture and Injury (HIC)
European SCART-Institute: Scenario-based Type Approval Processes in Europe - Current Status and Outlook
Dr. Abayomi Otubushin - SCART-Institute
  • SCART – Safety of Connected and Automated Road Traffic
  • Build market trust in Level 2+ automated driving systems
  • Digitised homologation process for UNECE and European frameworks
  • Unified assessment criteria that reduce regulatory uncertainty.
  • Traceable and transparent for authorities, fleets, and customers.
Investigating the Influence of the 3D Muscle Representation with Hybrid Active Properties in the Ansys Hans Human Body Model for Vehicle Safety Applications
Michael Ditthardt - Mercedes-Benz AG
  • Active HBMs in pedestrian protection
  • Hybrid muscle modelling approach
  • 1D vs. 3D muscle modelling
  • Kinematics & injury risk analysis
Latin NCAP & Global NCAP Protocol Updates, Results and Next Steps
Rafael Tucci - Latin NCAP / Global NCAP

Closing Remarks and Farewell
Dirk-Uwe Gehring - BGS Böhme & Gehring GmbH; Ralf Reuter - carhs.training gmbh

 

Program subject to change.

Thursday, June 18, 2026
09:00
HBM Virtual Testing Procedures for VRUs – Activities within the EU-Project IMPROVA
Dr.-Ing. Andre Eggers - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Ideas for an HBM-based VT procedure for test and assessment of VRU impacts against passenger cars
  • Improvement of pedestrian HBMs to address long-term consequence injuries
  • Approaches for validation of a vehicle front-end simulation model to be used in a VT pedestrian safety assessment procedure
09:30
The Frontend Geometry as a Potential Determining Factor for Impact Kinematics and Injury Severity of Pedestrians
Oliver Zander - BASt - German Federal Highway and Transport Research Institute
  • Research question
  • Methods and Results
  • To Do's
10:00
New Challenges for Pedestrian Protection Posed by Supercars
Andy Alter - TÜV Rheinland Kraftfahrt GmbH
  • Type approval
  • Possible evaluation of not measurable attributes
  • Increased risk of injury because of the design of the vehicle
  • Small series
10:30
Coffee Break
11:00
aPLI Round Robin – Update
Björn Hohage - AUDI AG
  • Update of the presentation from 2025
  • Execution of comparative tests in 6 laboratories with 13 different impactors on a generalized test frame
  • Preparation of the test results with regard to the current Euro NCAP evaluation scheme
  • Preliminary investigations into the causes of the scatter observed
11:30
Robust Impactor, Unstable Rating – Why the (Euro) NCAP aPLI Scoring is not Robust Enough
Jan Wilsmann - BMW AG
  • Classification of current experiences with the aPLI in the context of (Euro) NCAP assessment
  • Integration of round-robin and vehicle test experiences
  • Relevance of the results for vehicle development and target achievement
  • Open issues and questions for future assessment approaches
12:00
C-NCAP 2027 VRU Assessment
Yuanjin Pei - CATARC - China Automotive Technology & Research Center
  • C-NCAP 2027 Management Regulation
  • New legform test with vehicle in braking posture
12:20
Lunch Break
13:20
Euro NCAP Pedestrian Protection: Challenges for Manufacturers and Testing Organizations
Volker Sandner - ADAC Technik Zentrum Landsberg
  • Impactors
  • Assessment criteria
  • Test matrix / test layers
13:50
Analysis of Windshield Impact Tests based on Criteria for Atypical Fracture Behavior
Dany Tapigue - Ford-Werke GmbH; Peter Lessmann - BGS Böhme & Gehring GmbH
  • The Regulatory Framework for Windscreen Head Impacts
  • Technical Limitations in Tests Data Acquisition and Processing
  • Dataset and Tests Results Overview
  • Correlation Between Fracture and Injury (HIC)
14:20
Coffee Break
14:50
European SCART-Institute: Scenario-based Type Approval Processes in Europe - Current Status and Outlook
Dr. Abayomi Otubushin - SCART-Institute
  • SCART – Safety of Connected and Automated Road Traffic
  • Build market trust in Level 2+ automated driving systems
  • Digitised homologation process for UNECE and European frameworks
  • Unified assessment criteria that reduce regulatory uncertainty.
  • Traceable and transparent for authorities, fleets, and customers.
15:20
Investigating the Influence of the 3D Muscle Representation with Hybrid Active Properties in the Ansys Hans Human Body Model for Vehicle Safety Applications
Michael Ditthardt - Mercedes-Benz AG
  • Active HBMs in pedestrian protection
  • Hybrid muscle modelling approach
  • 1D vs. 3D muscle modelling
  • Kinematics & injury risk analysis
15:50
Latin NCAP & Global NCAP Protocol Updates, Results and Next Steps
Rafael Tucci - Latin NCAP / Global NCAP

16:10
Closing Remarks and Farewell
Dirk-Uwe Gehring - BGS Böhme & Gehring GmbH; Ralf Reuter - carhs.training gmbh

 

 

Program subject to change.