NEW YORK /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- With accident statistics showing that passive safety benefits have been optimized, the automotive industry is looking to active safety systems for the next reduction in injuries and fatalities on the road. Clearly, avoiding an accident is preferable to protecting the occupants of a vehicle from damage if it is involved in an impact with another vehicle or an immovable object.
Many studies have shown that leaving the road or making a lane change without checking the blind spot are major causes of traffic accidents. So is running into the back of another vehicle. These incidents are mostly due to driver error, mainly inattention. The new generation of driver assistance systems is designed to watch the road and other road users and warn the driver if anything potentially dangerous is about to happen. Some systems can take action to help the driver.
"All the latest driver assistance systems use some form of obstacle-detection technology to constantly monitor what is going on around the vehicle," says ABI Research Principal Analyst David Alexander. "Ultrasonics, radar, lidar, and cameras all play a role in currently available technology, but we see some trends emerging that indicate a shift toward radar sensors as the key technology over the next five years."
A new ABI Research study, "Automotive Obstacle Detection Systems" examines the growing availability of a variety of driver-assistance systems, such as blind spot detection, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. Ultrasonics remains the technology of choice for parking assistance, but even that domain could be challenged in the future as radar and camera technology become less expensive and more powerful.
"We see significant growth in this market over the next five years, and as volumes grow, the component costs are going to decline significantly," adds Alexander. "The migration from luxury to mainstream vehicles will be accompanied by a trend toward multiple functions for greater added value to the end consumer."
"Automotive Obstacle Detection Systems" provides analysis of global market trends, cost, and technological evaluations of different approaches and strategies used by safety system developers, and discussion of existing product announcements and design wins. System and sensor forecasts for vehicles are provided globally, by region, through 2013. The study forms part of ABI Research's Driver Assistance Research Service.
About ABI
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