ALP.Lab and DSD accredited as Austrian Euro NCAP Active Safety Laborator

The newest and most modern way to test new vehicles for safety is located in the heart of Europe. ALP.Lab and partner DSD have been officially accredited by Euro NCAP as the 10th European laboratory to perform the NCAP star rating tests based on the active safety protocols.

Together with partners, tests in the field of passive safety and virtual testing are also offered.

For the accreditation, 352 driving tests had to be successfully completed, by day and by night. The ALP.Lab testing team has thus proven that it has the necessary know-how and equipment to meet the stringent Euro NCAP test protocols in practice.

Test efficiency is the key

Additional time and effort were dedicated to devising innovative methods and procedures. The aim was to ensure that future customer tests can be conducted with greater efficiency compared to the conventional practices prevalent in the market. "Test Efficiency" will be the most prominent feature at the new Euro NCAP test laboratory in Austria. Thus, the new Euro NCAP test software "AVL Smart ADAS Analyzer" was finalized together with AVL, which enables live test analyses and documentation within seconds on the test track.

The new Euro NCAP laboratory benefits from the physical proximity to the market leaders Humanetics and 4activeSystems, both located in Austria. Any maintenance or repair work on the Euro NCAP accredited test equipment is thus carried out in record time and interrupts the test activities by only a few hours. For the test customers, this means: less idle time, more tests per day.

In addition, a continuous tool chain was implemented – from road to simulation to proving ground. The workflow is completed by a lane marking system co-developed by DSD, in which a GPS-controlled marking robot applies (washable) road markings on the test track with centimeter accuracy within a few minutes – and thus faster than conventional methods.

Gerhard Greiner (ALP.Lab): "Vehicle tests can be performed more efficiently here in Austria than elsewhere in Europe. The exceptional response time resulting from our collaboration with leading manufacturers of test equipment provides us and our clients with incredible opportunities."

Dr. Hermann Steffan (DSD): "Our ADAS Proving Ground in Austria is optimized for Euro NCAP testing and offers optimal opportunities to conduct consumer protection tests for active driving safety systems in the heart of Europe."

Dr. Jost Bernasch (VIRTUAL VEHICLE): „Following the Euro NCAP Roadmap 2025, VIRTUAL VEHICLE as Euro NCAP partner will support with his expertise for virtual testing. Computer simulation can augment or complement physical testing and the application of virtual testing is a way to add robustness to the assessment without increasing the test burden.”

Dr. Friedrich Forsthuber (BMK): "The successful accreditation as a Euro NCAP test laboratory demonstrates the extensive competencies of the Austrian partners in the field of vehicle testing.

Additionally, as a Euro NCAP member Austria can make a valuable contribution to even greater road safety."

Jaqueline Matijevic, MSc (BMK): "With the membership in Euro NCAP and the new accreditation, Austria has created important building blocks to not only research innovative, sustainable and at the same time safe solutions for new forms of mobility, but also to bring them into implementation."

DETAILS

Austria as Euro NCAP Member

The Republic of Austria is the eighth governmental institution and the sixth EU Member State directly participating in the Euro NCAP programme. The republic is officially represented by the Ministry for Climate Action (BMK) and receives technical support from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz).

ALP.Lab GmbH
https://www.alp-lab.at

ALP.Lab is the Innovation Hub for automated, sustainable mobility and offers comprehensive services for the safe testing of automated driving technologies. ALP.Lab GmbH was founded in 2017 by the automotive companies AVL List and Magna Steyr and the research institutions TU Graz, Joanneum Research and Virtual Vehicle Research. The innovation lab is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG as part of the "Mobility of the Future" program of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK).

DSD – Dr. Steffan Datentechnik GmbH
http://dsd.at

Dr. Steffan Datentechnik GmbH was founded in 1990 by Dr. Hermann Steffan. At the beginning the main activity was the software development for accident reconstruction – PC-Crash – a simulation program, which is represented worldwide with several thousand licenses and is constantly developed further. In 1998 DSD started the development of new devices for crash testing 2013 a test site for crash testing was put into operation in Allhaming. Since 2022, the DSD ADAS Proving Ground in Hofkirchen has been available as a test track for driver assistance systems and automated driving technologies.

Euro NCAP
https://euroncap.com

The consumer protection organization Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) was founded in 1996 and developed the five-star safety rating system for new vehicles. Austria has been a full member of Euro NCAP since 2022, officially represented by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection (BMK) – with technical support from Graz University of Technology.

Safety Labs Austria (SLA)
https://safetylabs.at

In order to be able to carry out Euro NCAP tests in Austria, several institutions operate under the communicative umbrella "SLA". In addition to ALP.Lab and DSD (Euro NCAP Laboratory for Active Safety), Capgemini Engineering (experts for passive safety tests) as well as TU Graz (Institute for Vehicle Safety) and Virtual Vehicle Research (both in the field of virtual testing) are active here.