A white paper on Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems

1. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
Automobile Collision Avoidance
Systems – A Life Saver
Scope e-Knowledge Center Pvt Ltd
May 2014

2. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
Table of Contents
1. Collision Avoidance System ...................................................................1
2. Traffic Collision – A Statistical Analysis................................................2
3. The Prevailing Technologies...................................................................4
4. The Growth in Car Crash Avoidance System ........................................5
5. Technology Trend in the Automobile Collision Avoidance System ....6
6. A Glance at the R&D ................................................................................9
7. Conclusion..............................................................................................12

3. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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1. Collision Avoidance System
Since the emergence of mechanized vehicles, road safety has been a major concern and had called for
attention. The automobile safety system gained increasing attention in the last three years with increasing
road accidents across the world. As a result, various crash avoidance systems have originated each
assuring better safety than the existing systems.
The collision avoidance system, the technology a majority of cars boast today, evolved to reiterate
automobile safety. It is ideal to be called a life saver as it reduces the severity of an accident, which
otherwise would cost one or more lives and/or severe property damages.
Estimates by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads have revealed that installation of
collision avoidance technology could reduce 20 to 40 per cent in terms of number and severity of fatal
crashes and 30 to 50 per cent of all injuries. Thus, with an aim to ensure the safety of a driver during the
crash/collision, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to make the pre-
crash system a mandate. In a similar move, all new vehicles in Europe will have Advanced Emergency
Braking Systems installed by November 2015.
Today, a collision avoidance system generally has camera sensors and radars or laser to detect and
warn the drivers of any danger lie ahead on the road, it could be a car, a pedestrian, a stationary object
such as a pole or tree etc. Over the years, the technology has evolved with most car manufacturers
focusing on the safety of their customers. Today, there are several advanced features the system
accompanies, such as audio warning the driver, pre-charging of brakes, automatic partial or full braking
etc, to avoid any fatalities.

4. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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2. Traffic Collision – A Statistical Analysis
Traffic collision, known by different terms in various parts of the world, is an incidence of a vehicle
collision, which may result in an injury and death in fatalities, with further cause to the vehicle and
property.
According to the “Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013” by World health Organization (WHO), more
than 1.24 million people die every year due to road traffic injuries, and is the eighth leading cause of
death globally. Given the current trends, it is projected to be the fifth leading cause of death globally by
2030, necessitating the law makers to implement precautionary measures to reduce the number of
deaths on road.
WHO-suggested five pillars that guide national road safety plans and activities:
Pillar 1
Road safety
management
Pillar 2
Saferroads
and mobility
Pillar 3
Safer vehicles
Pillar 4
Safer road
users
Pillar 5
Post-crash
response
Various factors contribute to the risk of collision, such as vehicle design, speed of operation, road design
& environment, driver skill & behavior etc. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation has revealed
that there were 34,080 fatalities on U.S. highways and roads in 2012, a 5.3% increase from the year
2011. In addition to disability or death, vehicle collisions incur huge costs to both society and the
individuals involved. In the US, the Center for Disease Control estimates the annual cost of traffic
fatalities and injuries to be $99 billion.
Traffic collisions can be classified by general types as
 Head-on
 Road departure
 Rear end
 Side collision
 Rollovers
The WHO report on road safety has revealed that of all the road user types, the maximum fatalities are
among car occupants.

5. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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Road traffic deaths by type of road user (World) (Courtesy WHO)
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a non-profit scientific and educational
organization based in USA, 1 in 3 fatal crashes can be avoided or mitigated if all passenger vehicles are
equipped with a crash avoidance system.

6. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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3. The Prevailing Technologies
Safer vehicles, one of the five pillers suggested by WHO, has a key role in controlling/avoiding road
accidents. Earlier, the crash avoidance system was an option for luxurious cars, but today, it has become
a common feature in the fleets. Crash avoidance technologies used in cars are built to operate vehicles
safety. To ensure a vehicle is safer, various crash avoidance technologies have evolved; though they
don’t operate or function similarly, the sole aim of their existence is to avoid or mitigate a crash. Below
briefed are the most promiment among the today’s crash avoidance technology:
 Forward collision warning system – in builds an electronic system (with sensors such as such
as cameras, radar or light detection and ranging (LIDAR)) to detect a vehicle or object infront and
warn the driver of potential collision. This system has proved to avoid most crashes than the other
technologies
 Lane departure warning system – features a camera that tracks the vehicle's position on the
lane and alerts the driver via haptic warning signals, such as steering wheel or seat vibration,
when the vehicle steers off its lane
 Adaptive cruise control – an in-vehicle electronic system that lets drivers specify the desired
speed, based on which the sysem will control the speed of the vehicle in heavy traffic,
maintaining a safe distance with the lead vehicle
 Automatic braking system – avoids collision by automatically applying a brake on sensing an
immediate collision with a nearby vehicle
 Electronic stability control system (electronic stability program (ESP)/dynamic stability
control (DSC)) – featuring sensors and a microcomputer, it detects and reduces the loss of
traction (skidding) of a vehicle; it also applies brake automatically to stabilize the vehicle and help
steer the vehicle back onto the path
 Blind spot monitor system – integrating sensors that monitors vehicle sides for approaching
blind spots and warns the driver of any hazardous during lane changes or turning
 Automotive night vision system – uses infrared imaging for enhanced vision in dim lighting or
poor weather conditions when headlights fail to reach drivers’ viewing distance

7. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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4. The Growth in Car Crash Avoidance System
Automobile collision avoidance and safety system technology innovations started in 1960’s in the form of
airbag for automobiles by General Motors. The statistics for the past six years shows that the year 2012
has recorded the maximum growth of 23%; the growth rate till April 2013 was 4%. Further, there are
possibilities of publication of few more interesting innovations in the forthcoming years.
Figure 1: Technology trend of automobile collision avoidance system
The below table has the annual patent publication count since 2008:
Publication year Patent count
2008 34
2009 35
2010 31
2011 29
2012 41
2013 (till April) 7

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5. Technology Trend in the Automobile Collision Avoidance
System
An inhouse research was performed on April 2013 regarding “Automobile collision avoidance system”
technology innovations based on the patent families published during the last five years (i.e. 2008 –
2013), wherein the first filings of those patent families were witnessed across 2001 – 2012.
The research has revealed that the “forward collision warning system” technology has much scope for
growth in future as the patent families first filed under this technology has contributed about 34% during
the period 2001 - 2012. The Automatic braking technology is the next major focus for automobile
manufacturers, with 18% of patent families first filed during 2001 – 2012, while the other prevailing
technologies account for remaining 48%.
Figure 2: Technology spread across eight major technologies

9. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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Technology
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Adaptive cruise control 1 1 3 2 5 6 5 3 3
Automatic braking 1 3 4 2 4 5 4 2 6 1
Automotive night vision 3 1 1 1
Electronic stability control 2 3 2
Forward collision warning
system
1 4 2 3 4 8 9 12 8 8 1
Lane departure warning 2 1 2 2 2 2
Others 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 1 2
Blind spot monitor 1 1 1 4 2 4 1 3
Table 2: Technology spread across eight major technologies
While the patenting activity pertaning to the collision avoidance technology is concerned, General Motors
tops the list with 18 patent families out of total 177 patent families. General Motors has published seven
patent families on the automatic braking system for automobiles. Toyota holds 12 patent families under
this technology with its main focus on the forward collision avoidance system.
Following Toyoto, Denso corp has 11 patent families, of which five patent families are on the forward
collision avoidance system technology, the company’s key focus. Below is the list of few other automobile
manufacturing companies that have recorded less than 10 patent families in the collision avoidance
technology.
 Ford Global Tech LLC
 Fuji Heavy Ind Ltd
 Hitachi Ltd
 Nissan Motor
 Honda Motor Co Ltd
 Volvo Car Corp
 Robert Bosch GMBH
 Caterpillar Inc
 Continental Teves AG & CO OHG
 Korea Electronics Telecomm
 ADC Automotive Dist Control

10. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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 Daimler Chrysler AG
 Inst Information Industry
 Lucas Automotive GMBH
 Sarnoff Corp and
 Volkswagen AG
An in-house statistical analysis conducted on patent publications concerning the technology has shown
that all the automobile companies focus mainly on the forward collision avoidance technology, which is
evident with 60 patent families contributing nearly 40% of the overall technology. The other vital
technology is automatic braking with 32 patent families.
Figure:3 Patenting activity of the above list of companies

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6. A Glance at the R&D
A number of innovations are patented under the automobile collision avoidance system; however the
automobile manufacturing companies are interested in incorporating the collision avoidance technology
mainly in their high-end car models. In few cases, the safety system is used as an optional for their car
models as the installation costs are huge.
A large number of players have their automobile collision avoidance technology in R & D phase and few
others in their prototype stage. Their major focus is on cost-effective installation of these safety
components in their automobile models.
Below is a technology comparison of products and brands of few major players in the market working on
automobile collision avoidance system.
List of Car
Manufactur
ers
Collision Avoidance Technology
Lane
departure
warning
system
(brands)
Forward
collision
warning
system
Adaptive
cruise
control
(ACC)
Automatic
braking
(brands)
Electronic
stability
control
(ESP)
Blind
spot
monitor
(brands)
Automotive
night vision
(brands)
Nissan
Motors
CIMA
Iteris
Valeo
X
Cima
Primera T-
Spec
Models
(partial
cruise
control)
X
Vehicle
Dynamic
Control
(VDC)
Fuga
Infiniti M
NA
Toyota
Cardina
Alphard
Crown
Majesta
X
Celsior
Sienna
Avalon
Sequoia
Avensis
Corolla
Prius
(partial
cruise
control)
X
Vehicle
Stability
Control
(VSC) or
Vehicle
Dynamics
Integrated
Manageme
nt (VDIM)
Camry
Landcruiser
Cygnus
Honda Inspire X
Inspire
Legend
Accord
CR-V series
III (partial
cruise
control)
Fit/Jazz
Vehicle
Stability
Assist
(VSA)
Accord Legend
Citroën
C4
C5
C6
NA NA X
Electronic
Stability
Program
C4 NA

12. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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List of Car
Manufactur
ers
Collision Avoidance Technology
Lane
departure
warning
system
(brands)
Forward
collision
warning
system
Adaptive
cruise
control
(ACC)
Automatic
braking
(brands)
Electronic
stability
control
(ESP)
Blind
spot
monitor
(brands)
Automotive
night vision
(brands)
Audi Q7 X
A8
A7
A6
Q7
A3
Q5
A6
Electronic
Stability
Program
(ESP)
X Audi A8
General
Motors
Cadillac
STS
DTS and
Buick
Lucerne
NA
Chevrolet-
Impala
NA StabiliTrak
Chevrolet
-Equinox
Cadillac
Deville
BMW
5 series
6 series
NA 5-series X
Dynamic
Stability
Control
(DSC)
3-series 7-series
Volvo
S80
V70 &
XC70
executive
cars
X
V40
S60
S80
XC60
XC70
Volvo
SUVs
Dynamic
Stability
and
Traction
Control
(DSTC)
Volvo
S80
NA
Mercedes-
Benz
E-class X
S
B
E
CLS
CL
A
M
G
GL
NA
Electronic
Stability
Program
(ES
C350
S-class
E-class
Kia Motors
Cadenza
premium
sedan
NA Cadenza NA
Electronic
Stability
Control
(ESC) and
Electronic
Stability
Program
(ESP)
Cadenza NA
Fiat
Lancia
Delt
NA NA NA
Electronic
Stability
Program
(ESP) and
Vehicle
Dynamic
Control
(VDC)
NA NA
Peugeot Citroën NA NA NA
Electronic
Stability
Program
(ESP)
NA NA

13. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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List of Car
Manufactur
ers
Collision Avoidance Technology
Lane
departure
warning
system
(brands)
Forward
collision
warning
system
Adaptive
cruise
control
(ACC)
Automatic
braking
(brands)
Electronic
stability
control
(ESP)
Blind
spot
monitor
(brands)
Automotive
night vision
(brands)
Lexus LS 460 NA
2006 LS
460
2013 GS
hybrid
X
Vehicle
Dynamics
Integrated
Manageme
nt (VDIM)
with
Vehicle
Stability
Control
(VSC)
ES LX 470
Ford X NA NA NA
Lincoln
Mercury
NA
Note: X - System installed in the vehicles but model of the vehicle not mentioned
NA – Not Available

14. Automobile Collision Avoidance Systems – A Life Saver
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7. Conclusion
Though vehicle safety systems were introduced in early 1960s, an alraming increase in the ratio of
accidents has made auto companies to emphasize on the systems. Further, government organizations
have also made a lot of study on ways to prevent road accidents or reduce fatalities. In 2010, with
supports from the member state, WHO has declared 2011 - 2020 as the “Decade of Action for Road
Safety”. Governments are encouraged to implement vehicle safety standards and work in collaboration
with vehicle manufacturing companies to ensure that a larger proportion of fleets comply the standards.
In addition, various independent assessments on the safety performance have encouraged car
companies, mainly in high-income countries, to manufacture safer vehicles exceeding the standards set
by the law. According to the Latin New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) results released in
November 2012, there are positive developments in the vehicle safety across the region. Hence, with the
crash avoidance system becoming a common feature in all passenger vehicles not just the people inside
the vehicle but those outside too will be protected.

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Reference
1. http://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/transportation/road-safety-motor-vehicle-
accidents-surveying-global-us-data#
2. http://www.answers.com/topic/collision-avoidance-systems
3. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/04/study-reveals-which-car-crash-avoidance-
technology-can-be-a-proven-lifesaver/index.htm
4. http://phys.org/news/2012-07-crash-avoidance.html