TRW showcases driver assist systems

TRW Automotive demonstrated its driver assist systems (DAS) and outlined expected trends in sensor technologies during the company's recent bi-annual Ride and Drive event at the Hockenheimring in Germany. According to Andrew Whydell, TRW Electronics’ director of product planning, DAS has and will continue to be a focal point for the automotive industry as governments and industry bodies strive to reduce road fatalities worldwide. For example, the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) and the Ins
June 5, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
601 TRW Automotive demonstrated its driver assist systems (DAS) and outlined expected trends in sensor technologies during the company's recent bi-annual Ride and Drive event at the Hockenheimring in Germany.

According to Andrew Whydell, TRW Electronics’ director of product planning, DAS has and will continue to be a focal point for the automotive industry as governments and industry bodies strive to reduce road fatalities worldwide. For example, the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP) and the 7120 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have this year introduced active safety criteria into their assessment programs which can be met with forward-looking radar and video camera sensors.

From 2014, 6437 Euro NCAP has introduced automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane departure warning (LDW) into its ratings scheme, and in North America, the IIHS has made fitting of forward collision warning (FCW) or AEB a requirement to receive its Top Safety Pick + consumer safety award. Going forward, from 2016 Euro NCAP will also introduce pedestrian AEB into its assessment program and is considering additional tests for other vulnerable road users including cyclists in future updates.

Whydell continued: "TRW has broad experience in radar and video camera systems and we anticipate exponential growth in these technologies over the next decade. We are now implementing our third and fourth generation sensor systems which not only help to address the more immediate industry requirements, but also play a fundamental role in enabling semi- and automated driving.

"As we move towards cars that allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel for periods of time, we'll start to see additional sensors being fitted to monitor 360 degrees around the vehicle and also the driver's attention level. The systems will need to allow time for a distracted driver to be able to retake control of the vehicle. Radar sensors will therefore require a wider field of view at shorter range, combined with an overall longer range detection capability. Next generation video camera sensors will likely have lenses which can extend the range for detecting vehicles to 250m and beyond for highway driving, while also allowing you to see what is happening close to the vehicle when manoeuvring at low speed.

"We continue to develop a flexible and scalable family of sensors that can fully address future industry requirements and support vehicle manufacturers across all vehicle segments and in all markets."
Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • TfL trials cyclist detection
    June 5, 2015
    New world first trials would allow TfL to better cater for cyclists at key junctions Further on-street trials will take place later this year TfL now given blanket approval from DfT to install low-level cycle signals at junctions Transport for London (TfL) is to trial a new technology that will help give cyclists more time on green lights.
    Read More
  • FOTsis targets ‘socially inclusive’ cooperative ITS
    December 5, 2013
    The FOTsis project addresses the imbalances between the vehicular and infrastructure sides of cooperative ITS infrastructures and looks to ensure road operators can help to enrich future technology applications. By Jason Barnes. Several developments have conspired to push the vehicular side of cooperative infrastructures/cooperative ITS to the fore in recent years. The automotive industry’s rather shorter product development and lifecycles combined with economic slowdown in many regions gave rise to the not
    Read More
  • Sensor solutions cuts maintenance and emissions
    December 8, 2014
    The new raft of sensor technology can provide cost savings as well as additional functionality, as David Crawford discovers. Austria’s third-largest city, Linz, with a population of around 200,000, is recording substantial savings in its urban tram network within 18 months of introducing a new, high-technology approach to its public transport management. Tram, bus and trolleybus operator Linz Linien forms part of city utilities management company Linz AG, which has been carrying out a wide-ranging Smart Cit
    Read More
  • VTT utilises 5G network to improve road safety
    December 12, 2018
    VTT’s Technical Research Centre in Finland has carried out an experiment using the 5G mobile network to help improve road safety, control self-driving cars and assist road maintenance providers. The company says 5G networks and fast data transmission solutions can collect sensor, video and radar data from vehicles. Public funding agency Business Finland subsidised the VTT's 5G-Safe project. It is part of the Challenge Finland competition, an initiative which explores the use of augmented reality an
    Read More

Highlighted Content