Skip to main content

Bosch takes first steps to autonomous driving

High-performance assistance systems, which control speed and the distance between vehicles, already help drivers reach their destinations safely and more comfortably. They also warn drivers of traffic jams and help them maneuver into even the tightest of parking spaces. Automotive technology and services supplier Bosch is set to expand its future range of driver assistance technology with systems will take on a growing role in guiding vehicles through traffic jams. More specifically, they will brake, accele
February 1, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
High-performance assistance systems, which control speed and the distance between vehicles, already help drivers reach their destinations safely and more comfortably. They also warn drivers of traffic jams and help them maneuver into even the tightest of parking spaces.

Automotive technology and services supplier 311 Bosch is set to expand its future range of driver assistance technology with systems will take on a growing role in guiding vehicles through traffic jams. More specifically, they will brake, accelerate, and steer completely autonomously. The traffic jam assistant will operate in most stop-and-go traffic situations, when the vehicle is moving at speeds between 0 and 50 kilometres per hour.

According to German motor club ADAC, the total length of tailbacks in Germany alone amounted to 405,000 kilometres in 2011. “The traffic jam assistant helps drivers arrive more relaxed at their destination, even in dense traffic,” says Gerhard Steiger, president of the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division.

The first generation of the traffic jam assistant is expected to enter series production in 2014. In the following years, the feature will be enhanced to cover ever-faster speeds and more complex driving situations. Eventually, the traffic jam assistant will serve as a highway pilot, making fully autonomous driving a reality.

Adaptive cruise control already tracks the vehicles ahead and adapts the distance and speed of the driver’s own vehicle accordingly.

Combining the Bosch electronic stability program (ESP) with the additional support of lane-detection cameras and electromechanical steering forms the technical basis for autonomous driving. High-performance software calculates the appropriate driving instructions for safer and less stressful driving. Automatic lane changing is the next step. It calls for two additional features; a rear-mounted radar sensor that also detects fast-approaching vehicles and a dynamic navigation map. Such maps, which operate via a mobile network connection, can keep drivers informed of current roadwork sites and local speed restrictions.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • AB Dynamics platform adds cyclists and pedestrians to ADAS and AV testing
    March 27, 2018
    UK-based AB Dynamics (ABD) has released its LaunchPad platform with the intention of offering choreographed control of all mobile features involved in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle testing. The solution, according to Jeremy Ash, the company’s commercial manager, will help create complex scenarios that potentially involve multiple pedestrians, cyclists and cars that are all synchronised and coordinated with the test vehicle. LaunchPad’s power controller runs on the comp
  • Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    December 16, 2014
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I
  • Swarm data from mobile phone networks makes traffic flows more visible
    December 6, 2016
    Telecom subsidiary Motionlogic and software provider PTV Group have teamed up in a partnership in which Motionlogic provides traffic and people movement data, based on anonymised signal data from the mobile phone network. PTV Group then processes this data to provide urban transport planners with analysis that enables them to calibrate transport models and the current traffic situation and map travel demand in real time. In addition, there are also down-to-the-hour departure and arrival figures. By using
  • Lidar: recipes for success
    March 28, 2022
    Lidar is being deployed all over the world - and you can even read a cookbook on the subject...