Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has announced that it will launch its next-generation safety system next year. It will combine three crucial components-- camera, radar and brakes-– into a single package of advanced safety.
The system will build upon the company’s ESP (Electronic Stability Program) full-stability system, Bendix Wingman Advanced collision-mitigation technology, and AutoVue Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system from Bendix CVS. Among the features will be a “stationary vehicle braking” component and alert prioritization. It will also significantly reduce false alerts that sometimes can be apparent in single-sensor systems, Bendix said.
The system has been demonstrated for several fleets and is currently being road-tested.
“For decades, Bendix has expanded the frontiers of vehicle safety like no other company, from pioneering antilock brakes to developing the first widely available full-stability solution for the North American commercial vehicle market to launching active cruise control with braking and collision mitigation technology,” said Scott Burkhart, Bendix vice president for sales, marketing, and business development. “Now, we’ve improved and fused together the most advanced technologies in the Bendix commercial vehicle safety suite to create a system that does more – and does it better – for today’s commercial vehicle market. Fleets can be confident in the system, because at its core are tried and true technologies that have performed reliably over many years and millions of miles.”
Stationary vehicle braking is a technological step forward from the stationary object alerts of Wingman Advanced, the company pointed out. Currently, the stationary object alert function gives the driver a warning only, of up to 3.0 seconds, when a large metallic in-lane object is blocking the lane of travel. The stationary vehicle braking function delivers the warning but, with more alert time available, can also apply the brakes if the system recognizes the metallic object as a vehicle.
Bendix adapted technology powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ2 processor with advanced object detection algorithms to create the system.
“When these systems are fully integrated – ‘talking’ directly to each other, in a sense, with multiple sensors confirming situational data – you get far more robust decision making in the system as a whole,” said TJ Thomas, director of marketing and customer solutions, Controls group. “That means more effective alert prioritization and a substantial reduction of false alerts. And this sensor data fusion is also crucial to unlocking new safety capabilities like stationary vehicle braking.”
The new system will also integrate with SafetyDirect from Bendix CVS, a user-friendly web portal that provides fleet operators with videos of severe events, along with comprehensive feedback on their fleet and drivers. The system wirelessly transmits real-time driver performance data and event-based information – including videos – to the fleet’s back office for analysis by fleet safety personnel.
