TARC Demonstrates R&D Achievements in Active Vehicle Safety
2013/05/16 | By Quincy LiangFCWS warns when a driver's safe distance to a vehicle ahead is compromised
The Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC), a key automotive-technology research and innovation task force in Taiwan, recently demonstrated its R&D achievements in active vehicle safety systems that are adopted by commercial fleets, mainly advanced Electric Parking Brake (EPB) system, Front Collision Warning System (FCWS), lane departure warning system (LDWS), Driver State Monitor (DSM), Around View Monitor (AVM) etc.
Established in 2005 to combine industrial, government, academic and research sectors to drive development of the automotive industry, the TARC has six major members, including the Automotive Research and Testing Center (ARTC), the Mechanical and System Research Laboratories (MSL) of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the Material and Chemical Research Laboratories (MCL) of ITRI, the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), and Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. Ltd. (HAITEC, of automobile-manufacturing conglomerate Yulon Group).
In recent years, TARC has been engaged in vehicle electrification and making vehicles more intelligent.
With successful pilot operation by five local fleets, the TARC has transferred eight technologically-mature automotive-electronic systems to local private companies for commercialization in the near future.
EPB
The ARTC cooperated with Fine Blanking & Tool Co., Ltd. (FBT), a major original equipment (OE) auto-parts supplier, in the development of an EPB system, which is used in the ground vehicles of China Airlines (CAL).
ARTC points out that ground vehicles play a vital role to tow aircraft under repair and maintenance, with the EPB providing proper braking and smart braking functions (such as automatic braking during switch-off or automatic brake-release during vehicle starting etc.).
EPB is forecast to be standard on one in five of all European-built vehicles by 2015. Projections also show that approximately half of the mid- to larger-sized European passenger cars will have EPB in this timeframe, while the technology will continue to penetrate other regions.
In addition, the EPB system, utilizing electrical cables and a control switch, simplifies routing and allows greater freedom of design for vehicle interiors. Its smaller package becomes even more attractive as vehicle manufacturers continue to seek vehicle space for new features and options and it can significantly reduce weight when compared to conventional park brake systems.
Besides parking brake functionality, EPB is a fully integral part of the brake system with features such as dynamic actuation and brake pad wear sensing technology. It also offers enhanced quality and reliability when compared with mechanical systems. Moreover, EPB significantly enhances safety in emergency stops with full four-wheel anti-lock functionality versus standard park brake emergency braking, which only functions on the rear axle.
With data collected from pilot operation by CAL's ground vehicle fleet, FBT is expected to further fine-tune its EPB systems to win business opportunities in the future, ARTC says.
FCWS+ LDWS
A truck in Kerry TJ Logisitcs' fleet equipped with the FCWS and LDWS jointly developed by TARC and Tung Thih Electronic Co., Ltd. (major Tier-1 automotive-electronic supplier to international automakers) was also demonstrated. For both the logistics company and its customers, such advanced vehicle safety systems are the best protection for quick, safe deliveries.
The camera-based LDWS developed by ARTC and TTE is a mechanized vision system designed to recognize lane markings and a vehicle's relative position to those markings. It can provide a visual, audible and/or vibrating warning to the driver if the vehicle departs from a distinguishable travel lane without using turn signal. In such system, vehicle position is evaluated by a camera system mounted behind the windshield that measures the lateral distance from the camera's center line to the left and right lane markings. The system works during the day or at night while headlights are on.
The FCWS warns the driver when a vehicle nears the vehicle ahead considering safe distance and speed. It uses a camera to detect the vehicle ahead by measuring the distance and alerts the driver through audio and/or video.
DSM+LDWS+FCWS
In a pilot project with tour coach operator Ho-Hsin Bus Traffic Co., Ltd., ARTC and Whetron Electronics Co., Ltd., another major automotive-electronic OE supplier, the results prove that all the Driver Status Monitor (DSM) system, LDWS and FCWS installed on Ho-Hsin's coaches work effectively to protect vehicle safety, drivers, and passengers.
According to ARTC, the DSM effectively avoids traffic accidents by monitoring a driver's state with built-in image-identification technologies, moving-gesture logic algorithm etc., which have been tested and inspected at ARTC's labs.
Industry sources say that the DSM is one of a group of electronic safety devices being developed for crash avoidance in motor vehicles under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) SAVE-IT Program (Safety Vehicles using adaptive Interface Technology) in the USA.
24GHz Microwave Radar
Using its high-level military technologies, CSIST, Universal Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (UMC) and UMC's subsidiary Advanced Radar Technology Co., Ltd.(ARadTek) jointly developed an anti-collision radar for road vehicles.
According to CSIST, the 24GHz FMCW long range (longer than 150m) microwave radar has many advantages: better detection of target range and velocity, easy-installation installed on plastic bumper, detection performance less effected by weather, and advanced signal processing technology for target recognition and false-alarm reduction.
The radar analyzes the arrival time and direction of the reflected radio waves to measure the distance to the vehicle and determine its velocity and position. These systems now are used as sensors for Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) systems that attempt to minimize crash damage when detecting an imminent collision, and for Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems that maintain a safe headway distance.
The anti-collision radar is installed on a fleet vehicle of Taiwan's auto-accessory chain-store Autobacs. According to CSIST, the radar can be matched with related devices, including Digital Signal Processors (DSP) and GPS antenna, to precisely calculate the distance from the vehicle ahead. In addition, the radar can also be articulated with the vehicle accelerator and EPB system to achieve better active safety.
AVM
To eliminate blind spots during turning, reversing or lane-changing, especially for large-sized vehicles, the Around View Monitor (AVM) system plays an increasingly important role while its penetration rate has risen on new cars.
Using four separate cameras, the AVM displays an image of the vehicle from above. This helps the driver to visually confirm the vehicle's relative position to its surrounding, hence helping a driver to easily parallel park and minimize accidents due visual blind spots.
The ARTC and Sysgration Ltd. jointly developed an AVM system installed on a commercial vehicle of HCT Logistics' fleet. Backed by cumulative users' experiences and real-road test data, Sysgration is expected to further improve the human-machine interface, product functions and human factor engineering of its future AVM system products to win OE orders from international automakers.
Sysgration began shipping in-car infotainment products to Volkswagen of Germany in 2010, and has won OE orders from four other international automakers, also having been aggressively trying to diversify its automotive-electronic product lines.