Skip to main content

TRW takes first step towards lane centring technology

TRW’s latest Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) technology, incorporating closed loop control, has gone into production for the first time on two vehicle platforms for the European market. LKA integrates data from a video camera sensor with electrically powered steering (EPS) to apply a short counter-steer torque via the steering system to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from unintentionally leaving the lane. In conventional LKA systems, the technology is only active when the vehicle is close to t
December 4, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
TRW’s latest Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) technology, incorporating closed loop control, has gone into production for the first time on two vehicle platforms for the European market.

LKA integrates data from a video camera sensor with electrically powered steering (EPS) to apply a short counter-steer torque via the steering system to assist the driver in preventing the vehicle from unintentionally leaving the lane.

In conventional LKA systems, the technology is only active when the vehicle is close to the lane borders, at which point the counter-steer torque is applied, helping to correct the driving position. TRW says that, with this closed loop version, the steering angle is controlled more closely as the driver is 'coached' to steer the vehicle away from the border back to the centre of the lane. As with all LKA systems, the induced torque generated by the EPS system can be easily over-ridden by the driver at any time.

Andy Whydell, product planning, TRW Electronics commented: "Lane Keeping Assist technology has great potential in helping to improve road safety. According to 2011 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data, 53 per cent of road fatalities result from a roadway departure, and 7120 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) data estimates that lane departure warning and lane keeping assist systems could save more than 7,500 lives in the USA each year."

"This technology is the first step towards a full lane centring system where the EPS system will help keep the driver in the centre of the lane at all times. Such technologies are starting to form the basis for semi-automated driving functionality," concluded Whydell.

Related Content

  • Progressing work zone safety systems
    February 6, 2012
    David Crawford investigates progress in a key safety area - work zones
  • US DOT proposes broader use of event data recorders
    December 10, 2012
    In an effort to help improve vehicle safety, the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has proposed a new standard that would capture valuable safety-related data in the seconds before and during a motor vehicle crash. The proposed rule would require automakers to install event data recorders (EDRs), devices that collect specific safety related data, in all light passenger vehicles beginning in September 2014. “By understanding how drivers respond in a cras
  • Daimler Buses introduces pedestrian recognition for buses
    July 4, 2017
    Daimler Buses is launching the new Active Brake Assist 4 (ABA 4) with pedestrian recognition which it says is the world's first emergency braking assistance system in a bus to automatically brake for pedestrians.
  • ‘Risky tailgating and speeding rife on UK motorways’
    May 22, 2014
    Six in ten UK drivers own up to risky tailgating (57 per cent) and a similar proportion break the limit by 10mph or more (60 per cent) on motorways and 70mph dual carriageways, with men by far the worst offenders, a survey by Brake and insurance company Direct Line reveals. Almost all drivers say they worry about other drivers tailgating on motorways: 95 per cent are at least occasionally concerned about vehicles too close behind them; more than four in ten (44 per cent) are concerned every, or most, tim