A modern crash technology

Getting some real-world testing this season is a high-tech system to help car and commercials prevent crashes by warning them of possible road dangers and assessing their options. Tested under a federal grant to the University of Michigan, the program will help motorists pick the path of least danger when stopping or changing lanes present risk. It is called as the Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety System. It goes beyond the collision warning detectors which are now found in some luxury models by integrating data from multiple sources.

Sayer said that the Government’s approval of the second phase of the $32.3 million study clears the way for 16 passenger cars and 10 commercial trucks equipped with the system to the nation’s roads.
”We’re going to get a good cross-section of the driving public,” he said.In a recent study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, it was asserted that the expansion of the availability of the forward-crash and lane-departure warning systems now offered in some high-end vehicles can actually save tens of thousands of lives annually.

The University claimed in a statement that the system designed to warn drivers when they are about to leave the roadway and that it is in danger of colliding with another vehicle while attempting to change lane, or in danger of colliding with the vehicle ahead.

The University further said ”It will use information gathered by inertial, video and radar sensors, plus a global positioning system, to warn drivers of potentially dangerous situations to prevent or lessen the impact of crashes.”

Part of a joint initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the University’s Transportation Research Institute conducts the study. $7.1 million will come from Battelle Memorial Institute in addition to $25.2 million in federal funding. Other fund sources include Cognex Corp., Con-way Inc, Eaton Corp., Honda, the Michigan Department of Transportaion, Navistar International Corp, and Visten Corp.

The university’s Transportation Research Institute is conducting the study, part of a joint initiative by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In addition to $25.2 million in federal funding, $7.1 million will come from Battelle Memorial Institute, Cognex Corp., Con-way Inc., Eaton Corp., Honda, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Navistar International Corp., and Visteon Corp.

~ by turbokiddave on September 23, 2008.