Technical Miscellany
On-Board Pedestrian Avoidance Systems.
New system warns drivers of pedestrians, even when they're not in view
Volvo recently developed a system that uses an in-vehicle radar system to alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians and cyclists on the road in front of them. Now, Germany's Technische Universitaet Muenchen has come up with a system of its own, that can even detect pedestrians that aren't within line of sight of the car.
In the university's Ko-TAG system, pedestrians and cyclists carry a transponder – this could be a small wearable device, or it could simply be built into their smartphone. Cars, on the other hand, transmit a coded radio signal. |
As a vehicle gets within range of a pedestrian, that person's transponder picks up the signal and responds by altering the code, then transmitting it back to the vehicle "in a very precise temporal pattern." By analyzing that pattern, the vehicle's onboard positioning system is able to determine the speed and trajectory of the pedestrian.
By combining the originating location of the return signal with the car's own present GPS coordinates, it's also able to determine the pedestrian's location to within a few centimeters – and it does so within a few microseconds. If it determines that the car and the person are about to collide, it can alert the driver or even automatically apply the brakes. One of the system's big selling points is the fact that, unlike radar-based technology, |
it can detect pedestrians even when they're hidden from view.
This could save people from being hit when walking out from between parked cars, or other objects. Source and more information: Technische Universitaet Muenchen |
Volvo’s auto-braking detection system adds cyclists to the mix
You can’t accuse Volvo of ignoring those people at risk of encountering the exterior of it's vehicles rather than the inside.
The Swedish automotive manufacturer has already introduced pedestrian airbags and an automated braking system designed to avoid hitting pedestrians. Volvo enhanced the latter to develop the world’s first auto-braking cyclist detection system, which is was presented at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show. The new system, with the catchy name of “Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection with full auto brake,” is essentially a software upgrade to Volvo’s current Pedestrian Detection system.
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That system uses sensors to detect when a pedestrian steps out in front of a car and applies the brakes if the driver doesn’t. Thanks to more rapid vision processing, the new system has been enhanced to detect cyclists in certain situations, such as one swerving out in front of the car.
The system uses a dual-mode radar that is integrated into the car’s grille to detect objects in front of the car and calculate the distance to them. The radar features a wide field of view to allow the system to detect pedestrians and cyclists as soon as possible. A high-resolution camera fitted in front of the rear-view mirror is then used to identify the type of object detected by the radar and calculate their pattern of movement. |
The data from the radar and camera is fed to a central control unit that continuously monitors the traffic situation. Both the radar and camera need to confirm the type of object and whether they are on a collision course before a red warning flashes on the windscreen and the auto brake system is activated, applying full braking power if necessary.
In addition to pedestrians and cyclists, Volvo says the system also works with vehicles driving in the same lane.
Volvo says the system will be available in its V40, S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 models from mid-May in 2013. Source and more information: Volvo |