Enhancing Vehicle Safety With Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Sachin Ghayal Jul 23, 2021

Human error is the leading cause of most road accidents around the world. Can this be mitigated? Yes, today it is possible to minimize human errors with the help of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technologies, leading to better control of driving scenarios thus fewer road accidents.

ADAS are intuitive electronic systems that assist drivers in parking and driving functions thereby increase road and car safety. These systems use automation technology, sensors including cameras and radars to detect obstacles nearby or driver errors and respond accordingly. The primary role of ADAS is to prevent deaths and injuries by reducing the number of instances of car accidents and reduce the severe impact of unavoidable ones.

Advanced driver-assistance systems are systems designed to automate, adapt, and enhance vehicle systems for safety and a better driving experience. Safety features are well equipped to evade accidents and minimize collisions with technologies that alert the driver when a problem shows up, implementing safety measures and taking temporary control of the vehicle, if necessary. Adaptive features can automate lighting, provide adaptive cruise control, assist in avoiding collisions, integrate sat nav/traffic warnings, alert drivers about possible obstacles, aid in lane departure and lane centering, provide navigational assistance through smartphones, and many more such features.

With such functionalities, ADAS forms the base for autonomous driving. While autonomous driving itself is a step-by-step approach.

Levels of Autonomous Driving:

Autonomous driving is categorized into different levels based on the measure of automation and the scale put forth by The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

Level 0 (No Driving Automation) - Most vehicles on the road today are Level 0 or manually controlled/driven. At Level 0, ADAS cannot control the vehicle, however, may provide alerts or temporarily intervene during driving. Some of the examples of Level 0 include stability control, automatic emergency braking, and forward-collision warning, etc. These features can only offer alerts or momentary assistance in very specific situations.

Level 1 (Driver Assistance) - This is the first level of minimal automation. The vehicle features a single automated system for driver assistance, such as steering or accelerating (cruise control). For example, Adaptive Cruise Control, where the vehicle is maintained at a safe distance behind the next car, can be qualified as Level 1 because the human driver constantly supervises other driving and braking aspects.

Level 2 (Partial Driving Automation) - Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS are employed at this level. Here the vehicle can control both steering and accelerating/decelerating. Automation is limited because a human sits in the driver’s seat and can take control of the car at any time.

Level 3 (Conditional Driving Automation) - There is a substantial jump from Level 2 to Level 3 from a technological perspective, but it is almost negligible from a human perspective. Level 3 vehicles can detect the surroundings and environment and make informed decisions by themselves, such as accelerating past a slow-moving vehicle. Although they can deduce the scenario and arrive at a decision, the driver must remain alert and ready to intervene if the system cannot execute the task.

Level 4 (High Driving Automation) - The notable difference between Level 3 and Level 4 automation is that Level 4 vehicles can intervene when things go wrong, or there is a failure of the system. At this level of automation, cars do not require human interaction in most circumstances. However, a human driver still has the option to override manually. Although Level 4 vehicles can operate in self-driving mode, until there is significant up-gradation of legislation and infrastructure, they can only do so within a limited area (usually an urban area where top speeds reach an average of 30 mph).

Level 5 (Full Driving Automation) - Level 5 vehicles do not require human attention―the dynamic driving task is eliminated. Level 5 cars may not even be manufactured with steering wheels or acceleration/braking pedals. They will be able to go anywhere and do anything that an experienced human driver can do.

Significant automotive safety improvements in the past (e.g., shatter-resistant glass, three-point seatbelts, airbags) were considered passive safety measures designed to avert fatal injury in the event of an accident. Today, ADAS actively provides safety with the help of embedded vision by lowering the rate of accidents and injury to the driver and other passengers. This essentially needs precise detections supported by various sensors covering the complete surrounding of the car avoiding any blind spots. Therefore, it is not only important to continually keep on improving existing sensors like RADAR and cameras but also to have production-ready sensors like LiDAR with better accuracy, coverage, and more importantly with pricing that the automotive industry can afford. For higher automation levels, LiDAR plays an integral part.

Automated automobiles are the cornerstone for the next generation of technology. With rapid advances being made in autonomous vehicles, the opportunities to reduce car accidents are increasing monumentally. This makes automotive ADAS even more critical.

ADAS in India

When compared to European countries, the ADAS penetration level in India is significantly lower. These low penetration levels can result from cost sensitivity among the buyers or a lack of awareness of the impact of ADAS on safety among consumers. Another major roadblock in the path is poor infrastructure, especially in the rural pockets of the country.

With road accidents being one of the most significant contributors to deaths in India, it is essential to now start looking to move from L1 vehicles and towards L2 vehicles. This change will play a major role in bringing down the number of accidents that occur every day due to human error.

With the increasing number of vehicles being added to Indian roads, it is imperative more than ever to quickly make the shift towards L2 vehicles. ADAS systems in L2 vehicles can ease some pressure off the driver by taking control over accelerating/de-accelerating and steering functions.

The shift will be possible if there is a change in the mindset of Indian consumers and they prioritize safety over cost. This change in perspective will drive the most significant tide of ADAS adoption in India. Another major push should come from the regulators.

The Indian government is working towards introducing a mandate to bring Advanced Driver Assist Systems [ADAS] in all cars by 2022. The government is trying to ensure that the manufacturers add all the safety features to the vehicles. In that stride, they are working to make Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) mandatory in cars on Indian roads by 2022-23.

ESC technology mainly counters understeer and oversteer through corners and detects loss of traction; it does this by systematically braking individual wheels or even cutting engine power to bring the vehicle back in control. On the other hand, AEB uses radar and camera-mounted technologies to assess the car’s position and detects if there are any obstacles in the way so that it can apply the brakes upon detecting a possible chance of collision.

Technologies such as ESC and AEB have the potential to avoid thousands of deaths and serious injuries caused on Indian roads, every year. Hence, India must make necessary mandates and infrastructural changes to make way for these life-saving technologies in vehicles.