Future Active Safety Innovation
Short of a
vehicle that literally drives itself safely until the driver or one
of the passengers takes the wheel, what active-safety design
challenges can we expect in the near future? Marc Osajda of
Freescale Semiconductor offers up a few interesting ideas.
Two areas for research and development may be traffic
sign and signal recognition plus automatic braking. With
recent advances in digital-imaging devices, sensors, and software,
this would seem to be a no-brainer. Yet there's a daunting
number of variables to consider.
The foremost concern, one we take for granted, is the
human element. Drivers recognize the difference between a
stop sign and a stationary pedestrian wearing a red sweatshirt.
They also know what to do at a red light, flashing red
light, flashing yellow light, or a multiple-stop-sign intersection.
Moreover, drivers instinctively know how hard to hit
the brakes based on speed or urgency of a situation.
The designers of these future auto-recognition and braking
systems will have to account for a lot more than these few
examples. MCU and FPGA makers also should find themselves
quite busy with requests for more functionality. Drivers
must get used to some novel events as well, like stopping
right at the stop sign instead of a yard or two further.
Debris and pothole detection would prove useful for both
rural and city driving. It's fairly easy to develop systems that
detect overt obstacles on the roadway - a stopped vehicle,
downed tree, or pile of rubbish - with a camera, proximity
software, a display, and an alarm system. But subtle threats
that would make a TPMS earn its salt, like broken glass, small metal objects obscured by poor
lighting, or potholes full of rain
water, are another story.
Possibly the most interesting
concept discussed for future
innovation may be wireless intervehicle
communication, whereby all vehicles on
the road could relay traffic information to each other. For
example, cars stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on one part
of the road could warn drivers further back to prepare and
slow down, preventing a major pileup or giving those drivers
the option of getting off and taking an alternate route.
In this scenario, designers will have to deal with whatever
wireless protocols are coming down the pike. Marketing
managers will need to consider the psychological element:
convincing drivers that it's okay if the sports car talks to the
luxury SUV, which may be called upon to communicate with
the hybrid vehicle. Convergence?
In a Sept. 10, 2007 report titled "Photonics Technology's
Greater Efficiency Complements Electronic Solutions in the
Automotive Industry," market analysts at Frost & Sullivan
claim that the performance capabilities of photonics technology
meet the automotive industry's need for safety products
offering superior performance, reliability, and robustness.
They further state that photonics technology offers better
performance than semiconductor solutions. LED and LCD
technologies will significantly
contribute to the lighting and
display systems of future automobiles. Meanwhile, the automotive
industry will focus on accelerating the employment of
optical sensors and heads-up displays for safety applications.
One company working in the realm of photonics for active
safety, Gentex, employs proprietary, intelligent light-sensor
technology in its automatic-dimming rearview mirrors. The
technology places a CMOS device that integrates light sensors
within a rearview mirror. Requiring no additional components,
i.e., amplifier or analog-to-digital converter, the device
relays light-level data to a microprocessor or computer, which
dims the mirror according to the amount of glare.
The company also forecasts what we can expect to find
integrated into the rear-view mirror of the future. Rain sensors,
GPS, tire-pressure indicators, carbon-monoxide alarms,
collision-avoidance alerts, and even cell phones are fair game.
Another item on the Gentex drawing board includes automotive
rear-vision systems that employ small cameras as sensors
to monitor driving conditions (Fig. 3). Other future
developments include windows and sunroofs that dim automatically
based on light intensity or on demand.