What Is ADAS Technology And How Is It Used For Safety In Automobiles?

As per Statista.com, while India has ~1% of the world’s vehicular population, it accounts for nearly 6% of the world’s road accidents. 

Passive automobile safety measures such as airbags, shatterproof glass and seat belts were incorporated to reduce the effects of such incidents. The ADAS technology is the next step in an attempt to reduce accidents per se in place of minimizing their effects. 

What Does ADAS Mean?

ADAS refers to the Advanced Driver Assistance System, a suite of features that use cameras, radar, mapping systems and sensors to enhance the safety of a vehicle and improve the driving experience. 

These features provide a 360-degree vision and real-time information about the environment around the vehicle, to assist against collisions or other hazards and may even take control of the automobile in dire situations. 

Levels of ADAS Technology

The ADAS system in automobiles comes in various levels of assistance: 

Level 0: No Assistance

Here, the driver is solely responsible with no ADAS system. However, the car could have some warning systems such as forward-collision warning, collision warning, lane-keeping assistance, etc.  

Level 1: Driver Assistance

There is some degree of driver assistance in the form of acceleration, braking or steering. For example, adaptive cruise control is a feature of Level 1 ADAS technology.

Level 2: Partial Driving Automation

At this level, the system can take control of at least one aspect of driving such as braking, acceleration or steering in specific circumstances. However, the driver cannot take his hands off the steering wheel and is expected to remain vigilant and supervise the driving at all times. 

Level 3: Conditional Driving Automation

India has no automobiles at the moment with Level 3 ADAS features. At this level, the vehicle is capable of taking control of the vehicle in specific conditions such as driving on highways. 

The driver can take their hands off the steering but must remain attentive and take control of the system in case their judgment tells them to. 

Level 4: High Driving Automation

This level of automation will be used for driverless cabs. There is no need for any human intervention. Only in emergencies could driver control be needed. 

Level 5: Full Driving Automation

It is the smartest version of an automobile requiring zero human intervention. The only intervention here would be to enter destinations. 

Features of ADAS

The ADAS features could vary as per the manufacturer and model of cars. Some of the common ADAS features include:

Forward Collision Warning

The feature detects when the car is too close to the vehicle in front and warns the driver to prevent a collision

Lane Departure Warning

This feature warns the driver when the automobile begins to drift outside the lane

Automatic Emergency Braking

This feature detects when a collision is imminent and automatically applies breaks 

High Beam Assist

This feature automatically switches the vehicle to low beam when it detects oncoming traffic at night and to high beam otherwise. It is especially useful while driving at night on highways. The feature functions with the help of cameras and sensors.

Blind Spot Monitoring

The feature detects the presence of any vehicle or obstacle in its blind spot and issues warnings when a collision with such things is imminent. It also advises against lane changing when it detects presence in the blind spots. 

Adaptive Cruise Control

The feature is useful on a highway where there is a need to monitor speeds over long periods. It detects the speed and distance of other vehicles on the road and adjusts the cruise speed of the car automatically, making driving a convenient and comfortable experience. 

Driver Drowsiness Detection

The feature uses sensors to detect the drowsiness of the driver by tracking their head/heart rate and features like lane departure. They issue warnings to the driver to take immediate action. 

How practical is ADAS on Indian roads?

The ADAS features could be a boon for both first-party and third-party passengers on the road by reducing the number of road accidents. 

However there are some factors specific to Indian traffic, that would need to be considered as we move into an era of Advanced Driver Assistance systems:

Indian Traffic mix

Indian traffic is a mix of 2-wheeler, three-wheeler, 4-wheeler and heavy traffic, and their composition on the road is not always regulated by traffic rules and lanes

Indian Road Infrastructure

Road signs and markings may not be very clear, or consistent even, which could reduce the effectiveness of various warning systems 

Indian Consumers

Indian consumers are cost-sensitive, and features such as the ADAS system could make the vehicles expensive. Further, maintenance and insurance of such vehicles would also be more expensive, deterring their purchase 

ADAS cars in India

The adoption of ADAS systems in Indian automobiles is relatively slow and is largely limited to the luxury segment. 

Some of the cars with the ADAS system include – Honda City (both eV and manual-petrol), MG Astor, Mahindra XUV700, MG Hector/Hector Plus, Tata Harrier/Safari, Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia EV6, etc. 

To Summarise

During the past decade, the active and passive automotive safety market has strengthened in India. Various financing options such as Tata Capital car loans have also made the segment more accessible to the safety-conscious consumer. 

As regulations evolve and the ADAS technology becomes common in more affordable car segments, the Indian automotive industry could be headed to a safer future.