The future of road safety technology lies in the development of new Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The automotive industry has already developed a wide variety of safety devices aimed at protecting passengers in the event of a collision. From airbags to reinforced car structures and controlled crush zones, many technologies have been developed that increase a person’s chances of surviving a crash. In fact, the number of deaths relative to the total U.S. population has declined 35.5 percent between 1979 and 2005. However, an average of 103 individuals still died in car crashes each day in 2008. That’s one crash-related death every 14 minutes.

But in the field of conventional vehicle safety measures, there’s not much new ground to cover. The next step in vehicle safety technology is not about crash readiness, but crash prevention and ADAS technologies are leading the way.

ADAS refers to a category of vehicle safety systems characterized by their focus on predictive safety technology. Many tech companies and auto manufacturers are currently working on developing a variety of ADAS systems. Some of these include various in-vehicle navigation systems that use GPS technology to provide up-to-date traffic information, lane change assistance systems, and adaptive cruise control technologies.

All of these require accurate mapping technology in order to function. Companies like Intermap Technologies are working to provide car manufacturers with ways of allowing vehicles to obtain accurate data regarding the conditions of the road ahead. Accurate road geometries are essential to the successful implementation of predictive safety systems. Intermap’s program has managed to produce accurate 3D road vectors that will enable the implementation of better ADAS technologies by providing accurate road and elevation data of upcoming terrain.

Headlight steering is one example of ADAS technology enabled by 3D road vectors. Currently, the headlights on some vehicles respond to the steering itself, turning with the steering wheel. NEXTMap-based road vectors can allow a car’s headlights to automatically rotate when approaching curves (left or right) and grades (up or down) to provide the driver with better visibility.

Accurate mapping can also help in the creation of better lane-keeping systems that can anticipate threatening situations and warn drivers of possible hazards, and, in extreme situations, even brake and maneuver the car out of danger.

Tags: adas, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Vehicle Safety

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 7:48 pm and is filed under Vehicle Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.