ADAS: Past, present and future

July 1, 2019
Featured in futuristic automotive advertising, ADAS is touted as cutting-edge technology. However, the concept has been around longer than most people realize.

ADAS, or advanced driver-assistance systems, is front-and-center in today’s automotive technology and is the precursor to fully autonomous driving vehicles. Featured in futuristic automotive advertising, ADAS is touted as cutting-edge technology. However, the concept has been around longer than most people realize.

One of the oldest driver assist systems is automatic braking systems (ABS) that was developed for 1920s era aircraft. Having an airplane skidding uncontrollably after touching down on a runway was to be avoided and ABS braking systems help prevent accidents during landing of heavy airplanes and eventually jet aircraft. It wasn’t until the 1970s that Robert Bosch patents, in joint development with Mercedes-Benz, that ABS was widely used on automobiles. Chrysler and the Bendix Corporation developed an ABS system called “Sure Brake” for the 1971 Chrysler Imperial. Ford had “Sure-Track” on Lincoln Continentals and General Motors marketed “Trackmaster,” a rear-wheel-only system on Cadillac and the Oldsmobile Toronado. Nissan had an early electronic ABS system developed by Denso fitted to their Nissan President sedan in the 1970s. BMW even applied ABS technology to the K100 motorcycle in the 1980s.

Another driver assist technology was the load sensing proportioning valve used in the mid-1960s. Proportioning valves were installed on pickup trucks to minimize vehicle spin (swapping ends) during hard braking on wet roads. The load sensing valve was located in the hydraulic system for the rear brakes. A metal rod attached to the pickup bed and the valve provided a rough indication of how much weight the truck is caring during braking. It functions to control the brake fluid pressure from the master cylinder in response to vehicle load and prevents early locking of the rear wheels.

Since the 1950s speed warning systems have helped drivers to ease off the gas pedal to reduce speed. The 1962 Buick Wildcat’s speedometer had a speed indicator that could be set by the driver. When that speed was exceeded a buzzer sounded as a warning to slow down. Other driver assists innovations include: automotive cruise control that was new in 1947, but is common on vehicles today and the neutral safety switch (or inhibitor switch) for both automatic and manual transmissions—a form of driver assist that prevents drivers from starting the engine with the transmission in gear. Even some vintage radios had an automatic volume control that would increase volume with vehicle speed allowing the driver to pay attention to driving. All of these systems, while not labeled as true ADAS technology, provided early forms of driver assist functionality.

Current ADAS systems

Not everyone in the automotive industry uses the term “automatic assist” precisely resulting in accidents caused by a misinformed driving public. This has happened with Tesla and other luxury cars when sales people tout the benefits of their brand’s offerings and over-state ADAS capabilities. For example, a sales person might say to a customer, “Just press this button and the car almost drives itself.” After purchasing the car the new owner gets on the Interstate, engages the ADAS system and starts playing a game on their phone. This lack of understanding of ADAS limitations has resulted in accidents with some fatalities.

Because OEMs, software companies and the aftermarket are all developing autonomous cars and the components that supports them, a common language is necessary to describe the technology to avoid confusion. In 2016 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) adopted descriptions of automated driving functionality, developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, of five levels of ADAS technology. It’s based on “Who Does What, When.”

Level 0 - The human driver does everything.

Level 1 - Automated system(s) on the vehicle can sometimes assist the human driver to conduct some parts of driving tasks.

Level 2 - Automated system(s) on the vehicle can actually conduct some parts of the driving task, while the human continues to monitor the driving environment and performs the rest of the driving tasks.

Level 3 - Automated system(s) can both conduct some parts of the driving task and monitor the driving environment in some instances, but the human driver must be ready to take back control when the automated system requests.

Level 4 - Automated system(s) can conduct the driving task and monitor the driving environment, and the human need not take back control, but the automated system can operate only in certain environments and under certain conditions.

Level 5 - The automated system can perform all driving tasks, under all conditions.

The use of ADAS that help drivers with steering, braking, monitoring and warning tasks is expected to increase over the next 10 years. In part this usage will be driven by consumer and government interest in safety applications that protect drivers and reduces accidents. For example, the United States and European Union are mandating that all vehicles be equipped with autonomous emergency braking systems and forward-collision warning systems by 2022. The increased usage of ADAS will have a significant impact on the auto repair industry as well. Even a simple job like replacing a windshield is complicated by the presence of ADAS sensors that need to be calibrated. Businesses like The Windscreen Company (www.thewindscreenco.co.uk), located in the United Kingdom are having to educate consumers regarding increased costs for windshield replacement. Consumer surveys show that the car-buying public is increasingly becoming more interested in ADAS applications that offer driver comfort and convenience, like blind spot monitoring and parking assist. The following are some highlights of ADAS in current use.

Adaptive cruise control (ACC) also known as dynamic cruise control, is considered a Level 1 ADAS technology. ACC systems can use radar, LIDAR (like those made by Ainstein (www.ainstein.ai) laser or camera based sensors to assist drivers in maintaining spacing between vehicles. Sensor input from ACC systems can use the vehicle’s engine management system to control braking and acceleration at speed. Radar systems can be long, or short range and some vehicles use both. The black-box sensor on a laser-based system must be exposed to the area that it is tracking and because the laser reflects off other cars it does not work well (or at all) in heavy rain or snow. Some camera-based systems use two, forward-facing cameras placed on either side of the rear view mirror providing binocular vision to the system’s computer. Through digital processing the ACC system can calculate distance of vehicles ahead.

On some vehicles collision avoidance is another feature of ACC systems and uses the same sensors to warn drivers of a potential fender bender, or worse. In addition to sensors, GPS information can be used to alert the system of fixed objects like stop signs, intersections, exit and entrance freeway ramps and other hazardous driving areas. Future ACC systems will have an impact on increasing the capacity of roads by maintaining optimal separation distances between vehicles and provide a safer driving environment.

Wake up! Anti-sleep pilot, driver condition monitor, fatigue detection or tiredness detection warning are some of the names of systems that warn a driver that they are not paying attention to the road ahead—time to get some coffee or pull over and take a nap. Studies have shown that 20 percent, or higher or road accidents are driver fatigue-related. Driver drowsiness detection and lane departure warning systems are similar, if not identical. They can use road lane monitoring via a camera, steering pattern monitoring or driver eye and face monitoring to determine when to sound a warning. Future systems could use body sensors to measure things like heart rate, brain and muscle activity and skin conductance as a measure of how awake a driver really is.

From the inception of the automobile the ability of a driver to “park” the car has been a challenge. The parallel parking test for licensing is one of the most difficult skills that drivers have to demonstrate—so difficult that 16 states have dropped the requirement. The lack of parking skills has led to a vicarious form of entertainment—watching drivers trying to parallel park. No matter how many times they back-and-fill, and/or bump other cars, they can’t seem to get any closer to the curb. Automatic parking is an ADAS system that bridges the gap between driver assist and fully automatic driving in that the system takes over steering during parking maneuvers.

In general, Automatic Parking Systems (APS) use ultrasonic sensors located at the four corners of a vehicle to determine its position relative to other parked cars. In operation APS is turned on and the car is driven past the desired parking spot to determine if there is enough room to park. During parking the system instructs the driver to put the car in reverse or drive and apply the brakes until the car is parked. Perpendicular parking is a similar process. After driving past an empty parking space and measuring it, the vehicle self-steers, backing into the space while the driver controls the gas and brake pedals. With driver angst over parking it’s no surprise that automakers want to offer customers a way to circumvent their lack of parking skills.

Future ADAS systems will be a real factor in differentiating automotive brands from one another. OEMs and their suppliers know that they will also be a significant revenue source for selling consumers various levels of trim and add-on packages. As costs for ADAS tech comes down it will be found on less expensive cars and become common place.

ADAS and autonomous cars

As evidenced by current ADAS systems, driver assist technology of the future is only going to become a larger part of consumers’ automotive experience. The use of ultrasonic, radar and optical sensors will provide a more complete picture of a vehicle’s surroundings and shift more driving responsibility away from human drivers and towards computers with the goal of a safer and more relaxed driving experience. An important part of the transition to fully automatic driving is connecting vehicles to one another and their environment. The combination of sensor technology and connected vehicles will play an increasingly import role in the transition from ADAS systems to fully autonomous vehicles.

While ADAS systems are effective for line-of-sight driving situations they can’t offer the situational awareness of vehicles that are connected to one another and the environment. Vehicles that are connected to each other can use their respective sensors to create a network of awareness that will extend far beyond the range of a single vehicle using ADAS alone. Connected vehicles will receive alerts of dangerous situations providing drivers and autonomous vehicles more time to react. For example, an oncoming car in the wrong lane in a blind curve; vehicles swerving to avoid a road obstruction; a driver about to run a red light as they are nearing an intersection could all be detected by connected cars that would transmit this information to other vehicles.

Connected vehicle technology will ultimately be less expensive to install per vehicle than ADAS systems and perform many, if not all the same functions. Connected cars will receive data from surrounding vehicles, and infrastructure, display driver alerts and interact with on-board braking, steering and engine management systems. OEMs, and high-tech players like Google and Microsoft are spending huge sums of money on research and development to create self-driving cars but they can’t get there without ADAS systems that will bridge the gap between current driver assist features and fully autonomous cars. Within 10 to 20 years, drivers will be able to get into their car and say “Take me home.” and read a book, or take a nap during the drive, but this will only happen in part because of ADAS systems that are used in today’s vehicles.

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