Key Features in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

Advanced driver assistance systems have become one of the best automotive technologies with various features, offering greater safety for vehicles and drivers.

FREMONT, CA: Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are one of the best automotive technologies considered when buying a new car. It is a category of systems that ensure that when a vehicle is in a blind spot, it can keep passengers at a safe distance from the vehicles in front of them. This will also help keep cars from drifting into other lanes. The best example of an ADAS is anti-lock brakes. These have become standard equipment on every new car, and in modern cars, there are now a considerable number of these systems.

These advanced driver assistance systems usually come in bundled safety suites. Even when a model lacks ADAS as a bundle or suite of features, many automakers sell them as standalone options or include them as part of a specific level. These systems have various interesting features, from adaptive cruise control to reverse brake assist. Adaptive cruise control resembles regular cruise control but keeps cars at a set speed. Additionally, it slows down or accelerates to keep a safe distance from the vehicles in front.

A blind spot alert is another feature that uses sensors on the vehicle to detect the possibility of cars in the blind spot. It signals with an alert on the side mirror when it sees any vehicle. Few pickup trucks also possess blind-spot alerts that consider cars next to either side of the trailer while towing. If there are troubles in parking spaces and drivers cannot find vehicles on either side, a rear cross-traffic alert will signal when a vehicle is approaching. This system uses radar units on the cars to detect cross traffic.

In some cases, there will be an alert and an arrow symbol on the centre screen that indicates from which direction the vehicle is coming. The front cross-traffic alert is handy when exiting a blind alley or driveway. Some novel systems also stop vehicles from turning left across traffic if they detect a vehicle in the same path via sensors.

Another intriguing characteristic of ADAS is forward collision warning (FCW), or avoidance sensing and warning if there are potential risks of collisions with vehicles ahead. Some systems can sense if there is a pending collision with a few cars in front. FCW makes sounds, flashes display lights or provides a tactile change to the way the steering wheel or brake pedal feels. It also uses sensors and adds automotive emergency braking to stop the car when the driver fails to respond quickly.

Furthermore, a lane departure warning alerts vehicles if they start drifting into another lane. Lane-keep assists and uses steering to keep the vehicle in the correct lane when it switches to another. When a vehicle drifts into oncoming traffic, some systems use steering to get back to the right side of the lane. Moreover, reverse brake assist uses automatic emergency braking to halt cars, avoiding a collision if it senses any object behind while backing up.