A collision avoidance system is an automotive safety system
designed to reduce the severity of an accident. Please note what that statement
said, it is designed to reduce the severity, not prevent or avoid an accident.
The reason for this is because, number one, by the time the system takes over
control, and there is a high likelihood that an accident can no longer be
avoided. Number two; the system is limited in its capabilities of what it can
do in the very brief time that it has to react to the situation. These systems
are also known as pre-crash systems, forward collision warning system or a
collision mitigating system. The systems
use sophisticated technologies such as radar, laser, cameras and ultrasonic
sensors to gather and store information of an imminent crash. Once the
detection is done, the systems analyze and compute the data and either warns
the driver of an imminent collision, or the vehicle will take independent
action by braking, steering or both.
Since 2009,
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been working
independently, along with cooperative efforts with Euro NCAP to study whether
to make frontal collision warning systems and lane departure warning systems as
mandatory safety equipment on all vehicles. In 2011, the European Commission
made a determination to require Advanced Emergency Braking Systems on all
commercial vehicles of new design introduced after November 2013, and for all
new vehicles built after November 2015 in the European Union. Their impact
assessment at that time determines a possibility of saving 5000 lives and
50,000 serious injuries per year across the European Union.
In 2012, an
IIHS study found that two particular collision avoidance systems seemed to hold
the biggest promise for immediate benefits. First, autonomous braking where the
car would brake on its own if the driver does not react to avoid an impending
collision, and second, adaptive headlights which would shift the headlights in
the direction that the driver steers. Surprisingly, it was felt that at that
stage of development, lane departure systems did not appear to be helpful, and
in some cases, even harmful. This shows that even these new safety systems,
designed to make our cars safer for us to operate, can sometimes over think, and
need to be reigned in somewhat until technology catches up.
The technology in this category is
changing almost every month. New models are being added almost every week, and
the features and how the systems operate are constantly evolving. Some of the
brands have actually gone to entirely new operating systems as they have
determined that what they were using is being deemed obsolete. Because of this,
much of the information that is available online is already out of date and not
reliable. This is a feature that if you want more information, it is best to
research online with the manufacturer’s website, if they post the information.
Much of this information is closely guarded and not readily available to the
average person as it is highly technical and most manufacturers are afraid of
corporate spying.
This week,
I will give what basic information I was able to obtain on two domestic
manufacturers, Ford and General Motors, and although Chrysler has its own
system, I did not find any available information on the basics of how it works. Ford’s Collision Warning with Brake Support
was introduced in 2009 on the Lincoln MKS and MKT and on the Ford Taurus. The
system provides a warning through a heads up display that appears resembling
brake lights. If the driver does not react to the signal, the system will
pre-charge the ABS braking and increase the brake assist sensitivity to
maximize driver braking. Ford’s Obstacle Avoidance technology employs a mix of
sensors including a camera behind the rearview mirror to scan for vehicles,
pedestrians and obstacles and will steer away if the driver does not take
action. Ford is currently working with a number of European automakers on a
newer version of this system, which is much more sophisticated, using three
radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors and a new camera able to scan out up to 650
feet.
GM’s
collision alert system is featured on the 2012 GMC Terrain, among other models,
and uses camera technology to scan if there is a vehicle ahead or a lane
departure. The 2013 Cadillac ATS, XTS
and SRX models feature low-speed automatic braking. The 2014 Chevrolet Impala uses radar and
camera based information to detect a possible threat and alert the driver. If
the driver does not react or reacts too slowly, the system will intervene and
apply braking to avoid a collision. The system will alert to forward collision,
lane departure, and side blind zone alert and will indicate with LED signals on
the dash or outside mirrors.
In the next post, I
will address the systems by European and Asian manufacturers.
