Aug 19, 2009, 6:32 GMT
Hamburg - Car makers are increasingly making use of smart technology including radar and laser sensors that intervene in emergency situations even before a driver has realised the danger ahead.
It is the horror of every motorist: An animal or pedestrian suddenly running across the road or a motorcycle appearing as if from nowhere.
But this time the accident is avoided. An electronic system takes over before the driver even has time to think, steering the car to the left and back into the right lane.
Mercedes engineers are currently working on just such a system. Two cameras mounted in the car interior monitor the area ahead, continuously sending the data to an onboard computer.
Should an obstacle suddenly come up ahead the system chooses from several options: it triggers a full braking procedure or briefly takes over the steering from the driver, swerving around the obstacle if the braking path is too long.
Audi is working on a similar system that can even stop the car when it is travelling at high speed. Radar and laser sensors create a digital map of the surroundings while at the same time assessing possible escape routes. Should the car speed toward the end of a traffic jam with both sides of the road cut-off with steel barriers, a full braking procedure is triggered, either avoiding an accident or minimising its effects.
According to Audi engineers, an automatic pedestrian recognition system could be ready in about three years. At speeds of up to 70 km/h it warns the driver or triggers the brakes if necessary.
The Mercedes system currently has a failure quota of about five per cent where it could for instance confuse an object with a pedestrian. But the researchers are confident that they can make the system 100 per cent fail-safe.
Lane detection, a drowsiness warning system and brakes that reduce the car's speed automatically if it comes too close to the car ahead are already a reality in several premium cars.
An electronic system taking over control from the driver not only has legal implications but could affect a driver's ego. Some customers might not be happy to know that smart technology is better than the driver.
The Mercedes man responsible for assistance systems Hans-Georg Metzler therefore is careful to point out that 'the driver always remains in control. He can at any time outmanoeuvre the assistant function by firmly steering against or accelerating.'
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