Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Baby Steps Toward Fully Self-Driving Cars

If your car is less than 10 years old, it likely has some form of driver assistance. Early systems like rear-view cameras and proximity sensors to aid in parking have been around for years and now even base-models are equipped with these systems.

If your car is newer than that, let’s say less than 5 years old, it likely has some serious bells and whistles. Some newer models even come fairly close to driving on their own. Love it or hate it, ADAS is likely here to stay. Go forward with DriveRevolve, your chances of buying a non-assisted car are about as good as buying a car with no seatbelts or air bags.

What ADAS systems are available?

Proximity sensors: a system with ultrasonic sensors to alert the driver when he’s close to hitting something. This works only at lower speeds, like parking.

360-degree surround view: These systems create a bird’s eye view of your vehicle by stitching images from several cameras mounted in side view mirrors and the body of the car, ensuring the fun driving process. This makes it very easy to park in tight spots.

Adaptive cruise control: This system allows you to lock onto the car in front of you when you encounter traffic while driving with the cruise control on. It typically uses both radar and forward facing cameras as inputs.

Cross traffic warning: If you’ve ever had trouble backing out of a driveway onto a busy street with limited visibility, you’ll like this system. It may also help when the car turns off while driving but turns back on, risking your safety,. Two radar arrays are used to check for and warn you about the traffic you can’t see coming.

Make the most of the ADAS to keep safe. Source: Unsplash

Blind spot monitoring: This system will alert you if you try to change lanes into a lane that’s already occupied. It uses the same radar sensor as cross traffic warning.

Lane departure warning: This system uses the forward-facing camera to watch the lane markings and will alert you if you start to leave your lane without first using the turn signal.

Lane keeping assist: The forward-facing camera is used for this system as well. Some cars will stay perfectly centered in your lane on their own, but not all. Some systems will allow the car to bounce back and forth between the lane markings, making you look like a drunk.

Collision warning: The camera and front radar are used to warn the driver when there’s a danger of driving into something. Unlike ultrasonic proximity sensors, this system can be used at higher speeds.

Pre-collision braking: If you’re about to drive your car into something, even with the clicking noise while driving, the car will panic brake for you so reduce injury.

Collision avoidance: These systems can both brake and steer the car to avoid accidents.

Advanced driver assistance systems. Source: caradas

Servicing cars with ADAS

If you own a car with ADAS, there are some things you should know. First, repairs that have previously been simple are sometimes now complex. Here are a few examples of repairs that now require special expertise and equipment.

·        Windshield replacement

·        Headlight replacement

·        Bumper replacement

·        Rearview mirror replacement

·        Side view mirror replacement

·        Radiator replacement

·        Air conditioning repairs

Since all of these repairs are relatively simple, many people would assume that any auto repair shop would be able to perform them, but that’s no longer the case! All of these repairs disturb sensors related to ADAS, and these sensors MUST be calibrated after the repair.

What happens if the ADAS calibration isn’t performed? Well, sometimes it’s not that noticeable. Lane departure or cruise control may not work as well as it used to. Or you may have something a little more annoying like random “BRAKE NOW!” messages appearing on the dash.

However, improperly calibrated ADAS may cause something far worse to happen. For example, you may have learned to trust the cross-traffic warning system, but after a repair it’s no longer aimed properly leading to a collision. Or a kid could jump out from between two cars suddenly, and if the collision avoidance system were properly calibrated, tragedy may have been avoided.

You don’t necessarily get a warning light when a system needs calibration. Your mechanic must check to see which repairs require calibration and which don’t.

The other thing you should know if you have a car with ADAS is that you’ll need to avoid things that affect its operation. Shiny objects on the dash can blind the front camera. The same goes for a dirty windshield. Modifying the vehicle’s suspension or wheels can also cause ADAS problems. As can installing aftermarket bumpers and other accessories.