Perfectly Solving Overpass Navigation Errors Through On-Road Testing

Already on the bridge but navigation still shows you underneath?
The hidden risks behind navigation misjudgments.

Most drivers have experienced this: you drive onto an overpass ramp, but navigation still shows you on the surface road, even giving a voice prompt like Turn right ahead. These layer misalignment errors not only confuse drivers but can also trigger dangerous behaviors such as sudden braking, last-minute lane changes, forcing an exit, or making an illegal U-turn after missing one. In heavy traffic, at night, or in bad weather, such misguidance is amplified, further increasing accident risk.

To deliver an exceptional user experience, automakers must incorporate localized road tests and user scenario simulations into their vehicle development phase. This approach is critical for ensuring product success.

 

Four Major Challenges in Navigation Validation: Why It’s Hard to Execute

 

Route Planning Design: Hard-to-spot error-prone segments

Finding「error-prone」segments in a short time is not easy.

Common issues include: high/low overlap hotspots and high-risk multi-path areas not being clearly identified, leading to poor route inclusion. As a result, route selection often relies on intuition or experience—either missing key ramps and overlap nodes, or wasting mileage on low-risk roads.

The outcome: low problem reproduction rate, poor test efficiency, and forced extension of the overall validation timeline.

 

Localized Road Testing: Challenges of unfamiliar rules and cultural differences

Overseas clients often lack local validation experience and face situations such as:

• Unfamiliar traffic rules and real road conditions, for example: separate lanes for motorcycles/scooters, time-based driving/turning restrictions, ramp signal control, and complex multi-layer ramp flows—plus congestion, rain at night, or temporary construction making plans harder to execute.
• Language and driving habit differences: including misreading translated road signs, difficulty distinguishing ramps and lanes, and different driving cultures. These often cause mismatches between designed scenarios and real conditions, severely reducing test planning and problem verification efficiency.

 

Test License Plate Preparation: Administrative and regulatory restrictions

Preparing test plates often faces hurdles such as lengthy administrative processes, limited quotas and schedules, plus time-consuming insurance and liability clarification. Projects often stall right at the start. Without test plates or related permits, many key scenarios cannot be tested on the road, directly delaying overall development progress.

 

Prototype Driver Licensing / Test Drivers: Lack of manpower and safety management

Qualified drivers are scarce. A lack of drivers certified for prototype vehicle testing leads to inconsistencies in executing safety SOPs. Insufficient manpower allocation and safety management during long-hour tests also negatively affect data quality and risk control.

 

Validation Completed in Just Two Months!
Quickly Tackling the Challenges of Overpass Navigation Testing

After receiving the project request, Allion’s automotive consulting team swiftly launched a localized quality validation program, breaking down each key pain point and completing the validation process in the shortest possible time:

Full Disclosure of Real-World Details

This one-stop solution enables clients to quickly grasp the key points of local validation and shorten the overall validation cycle.

 

Scenario Route Design

In practice, we evaluate conditions such as multi-level overpasses, intersecting ramps, tunnels connecting to elevated roads, temporary detours, and separate lanes for motorcycles and scooters. These 「error-prone」conditions are then converted into executable route scripts. By doing so, we can cover the most critical points with the least mileage, thereby increasing the problem reproduction rate while reducing the extra time and risk costs caused by repeated detours during testing.

On-Road Testing

Local engineers and professional drivers are assigned to carry out the tests. They monitor actual road conditions along different test routes together with real-time information from the in-vehicle system or app. Acceptable time and error ranges (for example, lane-level switching between elevated and surface roads, and location accuracy) as well as judgment thresholds are defined to ensure reproducible validation on those specific road segments.

Test Plate Application + Professional Test Driver Team

We assist clients in applying for test plates and insurance to ensure that critical scenarios—such as nighttime, rainy conditions, and highways—can be legally tested on the road. At the same time, we arrange professional test drivers with Prototype Driver qualifications to execute the scheduled test scripts, ensuring both safety and compliance. The key is aligning people, vehicles, and time slots all at once, which effectively shortens preparation time, stabilizes road test quality and risk control, and makes the entire process smoother and more efficient.

 

Under Two Months! Rapid Delivery of Validation Results

In just under two months, Allion not only helped the client identify issues early and provide solutions, but also enabled the client to complete validation within the planned schedule:

• Filling in critical local scenarios: Adding scenarios that are difficult to simulate in the lab, making tests closer to real-world driving.
• Providing comparable test reports: For example, recording the time points when layer misalignment occurs and the corresponding errors, ensuring subsequent fixes can be stably reproduced and verified.
• Improving layer-level judgment accuracy: Correctly switching between upper/lower bridge levels in real time, reducing high-risk behaviors such as hard braking and consecutive lane changes caused by misguidance.

Related Reading: Struggling with POI Accuracy or Map Display Issues? On-Site Road Testing Consultancy Helps Overcome Automotive Navigation Challenges

 

Time to Market with Quality! Allion Builds the Road to Success for Your Products

For the complex validation demands of the automotive industry, Allion’s automotive consulting team can engage in in-depth discussions based on each automaker client’s specific needs. Together, we evaluate the priority of issues and arrange validation for those with the highest urgency. Through faster, more convenient, and more comprehensive one-stop consulting and technical services, we help clients overcome technical challenges, accelerate validation processes, and achieve the goal of Time to Market with Quality on schedule!

 

If you encounter challenges during product development, testing, or certification, please contact us through the inquiry form. Allion will provide you with customized solutions to help your product stand out in a highly competitive market!

 

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