Radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors in the 2013 Cadillac XTS, backed by sensor fusion technology, enables a dozen driver information and safety features, including:
- Rear Automatic Braking
- Full-Speed Range Adaptive Cruise Control
- Intelligent Brake Assist
- Forward Collision Alert
- Safety Alert Seat
- Automatic Collision Preparation
- Lane Departure Warning
- Side Blind Zone Alert
- Rear Cross Traffic Alert
- Adaptive Forward Lighting
- Rear Vision Camera With Dynamic Guidelines
- Head Up Display
GM says the features are included in an optional Driver Assistance package due this fall.
“No sensor working alone provides all the needed information. That’s why multiple sensors and positioning technologies need to work together synergistically and seamlessly,” says Bakhtiar Litkouhi, GM Research and Development lab group manager for perception and vehicle control systems. “Sensor fusion will help facilitate that.
“We believe sensor fusion will enable future active safety systems to handle a greater number of inputs to provide 360 degrees of crash risk detection and enhanced driver assist features,” Litkouhi adds.
Sensor fusion also is a building block in the development of semi- and fully autonomous vehicles that are designed to maintain lane position and adapt to traffic environments. Litkouhi predicts that technology to enable such vehicles will be available by the end of the decade.
Preparing RecommendationsGM’s deployment of sensor fusion in the XTS builds on its experience with an autonomous vehicle that won the 60-mile DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Urban Challenge in 2007 and its work on semi-autonomous EN-V electric concept vehicles unveiled at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
Also over the horizon are more advanced positioning systems with more accurate GPS and digital mapping, to help locate vehicles in relation to one another. GPS effectiveness can be limited in urban environments where high-rise buildings interfere with satellite signals, but GPS data can be fused with other sensing and positioning technologies.
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