Advance Drivers Assistance Systems

Advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS, is the term used to describe the growing number of safety functions designed to improve driver, passenger and pedestrian safety. ADAS are electronic systems in a vehicle that use advanced technologies to assist the driver. They can include many active safety features and often the terms “ADAS” and “active safety” are used interchangeably.

ADAS uses sensors in the vehicle such as radar and cameras to perceive the world around it, and then either provides information to the driver or takes automatic action based on what it perceives.

ADAS features that provide information will most commonly include “warning” in the name. For example:- If the vehicle detects an object such as another vehicle or a motorcyclist in a location where the driver may not be able to see them, features such as blind spot warning or rear backup warning will alert the driver. Likewise, if the system determines lane departure warning to alert the driver.

 

This brings me to the functions of the ADAS that are becoming commonplace in new vehicles:-

1. Blind spot Monitoring (BSM):- Senses any vehicle that may be in the driver’s blind spot to the rear or side of the vehicle being driven. The warning is normally a visible alert in the form of a light in the side mirrors.

2. Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA):- Works in conjunction with the blind spot Monitoring system. It warns the driver of approaching cross-traffic when reversing out of a parking place. The warning can be audible and/or visible.

3. Park Assist:- Activating this system engages a group of sensors that help the driver to see on the infotainment screen(a screen beside the driver’s display), if a space is large enough to park in. In most cases it can control the steering and the driver controls the accelerator and brakes, although some systems have the ability to control everything. Visible and audible warnings alert the driver to the proximity(range) of the other vehicle.

4. Intelligent Headlamp Control(IHC):- This type of system uses cameras, steering angle sensors, yaw-detectors(helps in vehicle’s stability control) and infra-red(IR) LEDs to adapt the illumination range of a vehicle by constantly monitoring its driving mode and traffic situation. Different manufacturer systems include:

·       Automatic Headlamp beam adjustment to give varying light spreads suited to rural, urban or motorway driving;

·       Progressive, instead of instant, headlamp beam change between main and dip, to minimise driver eye-strain;

·       Automatic adjustment of headlamp beam direction and shape to anticipate curve roads, or road junction turns;

·       Detection by IR beams of obstacles beyond the headlamp beam, which are then shown in the driver’s display.

5. Autonomous Emergency Braking(AEB):- If this system senses that the vehicle is likely to impact an object but the driver has not taken any braking action, the system will issue an audible and/or visual alarm. If the driver still does not take action and a collision is imminent, it will apply brakes automatically.

6. Forward Collision Warning(FCW):- Similar to AEB system above but it issues warning only, and will not apply any automatic braking.

7. Lane Departure Warning(LDW):- Monitors the vehicle’s position within its lane, and provides a warning if the vehicle starts to move out of its lane without any driver input. This warning can be visible, audible or a vibration that is felt through the steering wheel or seat, or any combination of all three.

8. Lane Keep Assist(LKA):- Similar to LDW, but in addition to giving warning it will apply corrective steering/braking to keep vehicle in its lane.

9. Adaptive Cruise Control(ACC):- The driver sets the desired speed and distance to be maintained between the vehicle and the one in front. The system then monitors and maintains the distance by regulating the throttle and if necessary, applying the brakes. It will resume the pre-set speed once any detected risk has gone.

10. Traffic Sign Recognition(TSR):- This uses a camera which can be read and display speed limit signs and ‘no overtaking’ warnings so that the driver is made aware of the command even if they’ve failed to notice a road sign. The system is informative only and does not take corrective action to reduce the speed of the vehicle. Where a speed limit is dependent on weather condition, the rain or light sensor will provide input which the system can recognize to display the correct speed limit.

11. Driver Monitoring System:- The driver monitoring system is another way of measuring the driver’s attention. The camera sensors can analyze whether the driver’s eyes are on the road or drifting. Driver monitoring systems can alert drivers with noises, vibrations in the steering wheel, or flashing lights. In some cases, the car will take the extreme measure of stopping the vehicle completely.

12. 5G and V2X :- This hot new 5G ADAS feature, with increased reliability and lower latency(delayed user’s action), provides communication between the vehicle and other vehicles or pedestrians, generally referred to as V2X. Today, millions of vehicles connect to cellular networks(Internet Of Things) for real-time navigation. This application will enhance existing methods and the cellular network to improve situational awareness, control or suggest speed adjustments to account for traffic congestion, and update GPS maps with real-time updates. V2X is essential to support over-the-air (OTA) software updates for the now-extensive range of software-driven systems in cars, from map updates to bug fixes to security updates and more. 

When these detections are coupled with a technology that takes action beyond a simple warning, ADAS becomes an active safety system – meaning the vehicle will “actively” control braking or steering. These features most commonly include “assistance” in the name.

These features can drastically increase the effectiveness of ADAs to save lives. For example, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, found that the forward collision warning systems lower front-to-rear crashes by 27%; when the system also includes ability to  automatically brake, that number nearly doubles. Similarly, rear-view cameras reduce backing crashes by 17%, but rear automatic braking lowers them by a massive 78%.

The ADAS is currently Level-1 and Level-2 automation cars commonly. But now it is slowly enterimg in the territory Level-3 as well. If you haven’t checkout the previous blog on the Five Levels of Automation in car, please do.  

 

Checkout the link of video below to gain a practical idea of ADAS warning and braking:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh0jYA929pg