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

  • European tunnel safety steps up a gear
    September 19, 2017
    David Crawford reviews the latest safety systems installed in European tunnels. Blueprints for the safer road tunnels of the future are emerging fast as European operators invest in technologies to enhance travellers’ prospects of surviving an accident. Central to modern emergency planning is the principle that, following an incident, drivers should be enabled to rescue themselves and their passengers with the aid of prompt and correct identification and communication of the hazard. Roles for cooperativ
  • Counting the environmental costs of ITS deployment
    October 29, 2015
    David Crawford looks at the latest thinking about calculating the benefits associated with the environmental side of ITS schemes. The penny is dropping that some environmental costs “are being shifted outside the traditional bounds of evaluation methods” for ITS-based road transport projects, according to researchers at the UK University of Leeds’ Institute for Transport Studies.
  • ADAS ‘fastest growing sector’ in automotive field
    July 7, 2015
    According to the latest research by RnR Market Research, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in automotive field and is expected to register a CAGR of 32 per cent during 2014-2019. Currently, developed countries in Europe and America have had nearly eight per cent of new vehicles equipped with ADAS, in contrast to about two per cent in emerging markets. It is predicted that over 25 per cent of new vehicles will carry ADAS by 2019 globally. The Global a
  • Consumers ‘fear technology failures with autonomous vehicles’
    April 21, 2017
    With the exception of Generation Y (1977-1994), all other generational groups are becoming more sceptical of self-driving technology, which poses a new challenge to car manufacturers and technology developers, according to the J.D. Power 2017 US Tech Choice Study. The study was carried out in January-February 2017 and is based on an online survey of more than 8,500 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years. “In most cases, as technology concepts get closer to becoming reality, cons