Ford is using radio-based wireless sensors instead of radar and camera sensors because they have the ability to scan 360 degrees around the car. Once a car with a similar system is detected, algorithms calculate if an imminent collision is about to occur and automatically applies the brakes.
The need to develop such a system comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that about 40 percent of all traffic accidents occur in intersections. Most of them are side-impact collisions.
“By leveraging wireless technology, Ford is developing tomorrow’s crash avoidance systems today,” Jim Vondale, Ford Automotive Safety Office director said in a statement.
“Thanks to research projects like ABICAS, tomorrow’s vehicles will one day be able to talk to each other to avoid accidents.”
ABICAS is based on an older Ford project, Smart Intersection, which was developed to insure wireless communication between the car and intersection infrastructure. Of course, ABICAS will be completely ineffective if other manufacturers do not embrace similar systems and, as Ford says, a set of standards is not created.
“For vehicle-to-vehicle communications to be effective, common standards will need to be established for all automakers to follow,” Mike Shulman, Ford Active Safety Research and Advanced Engineering head added.
“Our research is helping to identify the types of warnings that drivers find to be effective and easier to understand.”
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