Monday, April 1, 2024

What Is Adaptive Cruise Control? Driver-Assistance Tech Explained

adaptive cruise control

TomTom creates technologies for a moving world that supports all levels of autonomous driving. To learn more about how the ADAS Map is already powering automated vehicles on the road today, download the product sheet. Tesla’s Autopilot, GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise go one crucial step beyond that by allowing you to drive without a hand on the wheel. The GM and Ford systems are geofenced to operate in only specific stretches of highway, whereas Tesla’s system operates more freely (for better and for worse). Tesla also does not monitor the driver’s attention as Super Cruise and BlueCruise do.

Driver Assistance Technologies - NHTSA

Driver Assistance Technologies.

Posted: Tue, 02 Jan 2024 14:43:34 GMT [source]

Testing and Validating Adaptive Cruise Systems

Although the state of autonomous driving today is Level 2, a few carmakers are on the precipice of Level 3. For example, Tesla’s Enhanced Autopilot, Ford’s BlueCruise, the Mercedes Drive Pilot, and General Motors’ Super Cruise bring the potential for Level 3. A few over-the-air software tweaks will turn the potential into reality. However, like a stood-up date who is all dressed up with nowhere to go, you will not find Level 3-designated highways as of yet. The Bosch driving assist supports the driver and takes over the longitudinal and lateral guidance of the vehicle and helps the driver to reach his destination as relaxed as possible. Mike Monticello is the manager of road tests and reviews for the autos team at Consumer Reports.

What Do Automakers Call Adaptive Cruise Control?

adaptive cruise control

Newer F-150s have adaptive cruise control, which makes driving even more convenient—and safer, too. This feature helps your Jetta to maintain a set distance from the vehicle ahead of you. The Nissan Altima has one of the best adaptive cruise control systems we have seen. The Mazda 3 offers a system that has adaptive cruise control, rear-cross traffic detection, and blindspot monitoring capabilities. The all-new Volvo S60 joins a long line of Volvo models to feature adaptive cruise control.

Ford F-150

By this, for instance, ACC can, thanks to the lateral measuring accuracy of the multi purpose camera, detect a vehicle entering the driver’s own lane – either planned or unplanned – much earlier, enabling the system to respond more dynamically. For a better and more robust understanding of the scene, data of the radar sensor and the camera can be merged. Most (but not all) current forms of this ADAS use radar as their main source of information. A radar sensor mounted in the front of the vehicle is used to analyze the road ahead. It does this by emitting radio waves and measuring how long they take to return to the ACC sensor.

Radar (Probably) Won't Save Your Life - ADVrider

Radar (Probably) Won't Save Your Life.

Posted: Mon, 19 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Back to Driver Assistance

A conventional cruise control system does not automatically keep a set distance away from the car in front, and it is indicated by a similar logo without the car next to the speedometer. A tip to know if your car has adaptive cruise control or regular cruise control is to look for the “gap distance” button, which usually shows a symbol of a car with horizontal distance bars in front. This button will determine how much space your car leaves between its front bumper and the rear of the car it is following. Level 3 – If Level 2 is partial self-driving, Level 3 is conditional full automation.

What’s more, 19 percent said their ACC system helped to avoid a crash. If your vehicle has the Driver Attention System (DAS) on the steering column, Adaptive Cruise Control may automatically resume and follow the vehicle ahead for longer stops if the system detects that you're paying attention to the road. The TomTom ADAS Map is designed for this purpose, providing a range of attributes that power modern ADAS systems. Adaptive cruise control helps drivers adjust the speed of their vehicle. Today, most ACC systems use a combination of laser, radar, or camera sensors to help overcome the shortfalls of each individually. With future refinement, ACC can move beyond just being a convenience feature and provide truly safe semi-autonomous driving.

Ford’s BlueCruise sets a high standard among ADA systems, aided by an infrared camera that monitors the driver’s eyes to determine whether they are looking at the road. If the driver glances away from the road for more than about 5 seconds—whether to look at their cell phone or fiddle with the infotainment screen, or because they fell asleep—the system will give the driver a visual warning and an audible chime. When operating on pre-mapped highways that allow for hands-free operation, BlueCruise prompts the driver in advance of risky scenarios, such as lane merges or curves, to place their hands back on the wheel.

Kia Soul

But overall, OEM automaker ACC integration delivers a smoother and more reliable driver experience. Radar ACC is the most common since it combines long range, wide scanning angle, with reasonable cost. However, some automakers like Toyota and BMW use both radar and cameras to complement each other. Keith Barry has been an auto reporter at Consumer Reports since 2018.

Auto Set New Speed

The ACC function of Tesla’s Autopilot system is capable of stopping the car, such as at a red light behind another vehicle, for an unlimited amount of time before resuming again. But without an adequate driver monitoring camera, this is potentially unsafe as there’s no way to know whether the driver is still paying attention when the vehicle starts moving again. The Jaguar/Land Rover Adaptive Cruise w/Steer Assist (tested on a Land Rover Range Rover Sport) performed the worst of any system at keeping the vehicle centered, or even within the lane, on city streets. There were many times the system would suddenly go into a “standby” mode and stop giving steering assistance, and then depart the lane. Other times the steering-assistance remained engaged but the driver still had to intervene to keep the vehicle from crossing over a lane line. It faired much better on the highway—in fact, it almost felt like an entirely different system.

And the driver-monitoring camera can be switched off, even when using ADA. While some other systems do have cameras, we found that they will still function even if their cameras are covered, and in some cases the cameras can actually be turned off—neither of which is the case with BlueCruise or Super Cruise. The systems without driver-monitoring cameras require only that the driver place their hands on the wheel every once in a while, which doesn’t necessarily mean the driver is looking at the road ahead.

To turn the feature on, press the cruise control On/Off button on the steering wheel. Your vehicle will default to the type of cruise control you last used when you turned your vehicle off. When the system is turned on, you’ll see a white Adaptive Cruise Control icon in your cluster display or on your Head-Up Display, if your vehicle has that feature. The icon may look like a speedometer with a vehicle on top of it or an arc with a small triangle pointing through it. While ACC is designed to increase safety and convenience, it is most effective in steady traffic conditions on highways or well-marked roads. It is not recommended for use in city driving, in adverse weather conditions, or on roads with poor lane markings as these factors can reduce the system’s effectiveness.

The updated Hyundai/Kia/Genesis system—called Highway Driving Assist 2 (evaluated on a Hyundai Ioniq 6)—performed much better thanks to its substantially improved LCA system, which no longer struggles to keep the vehicle near the center of the lane. Fisher and other safety experts say that many of them are designed in a way that may lull drivers into complacency, giving them a false impression that the car is handling everything on their behalf. That can be dangerous if the ADA system encounters something it can’t handle, such as road construction or an emergency vehicle, and the driver is not prepared to take back control of the car quickly. In order for any ADA system to be used safely, the driver always needs to remain attentive. Though still relatively new, ADA systems are already available on more than 50 percent of 2023 model-year vehicles, according to CR’s data.

We also like that the Mercedes and Subaru ACC systems have settings that allow the driver to adjust the deceleration and acceleration force with which it slows down and speeds back up for traffic ahead. The RAV4’s ACC system uses radar sensors to help the vehicle maintain a safe distance from other vehicles. Just as with traditional cruise control, the adaptive cruise control system requires drivers to choose their preferred speed. Next, ACC requires drivers to set their preferred following distance from the vehicle’s pre-set options. The origins of normal cruise control go back to 1948, when Ralph Teetor invented the speedostat. Having greatly improved since, its focus on throttle control is still central to automation today.

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