DEARBORN – Ford Motor Company said Monday it
will offer a new advanced active collision-avoidance technology,
Collision Warning with Brake Support, on certain Ford and Lincoln vehicles
next year.
Collision Warning with Brake Support uses radar to detect moving
vehicles directly ahead. When the danger of a collision is detected, the
system warns the driver with an authoritative beep and a red warning light
projected on the windshield above the instrument panel. The system also
automatically pre-charges brakes and engages a brake-assist feature that
helps drivers quickly reach maximum braking once the brakes are engaged.
Collision Warning with Brake Support is one of three new radar-based
active safety and driver-aid technologies Ford is launching across a range
of vehicles in 2008 and 2009. The others are Adaptive Cruise Control,
launched this year, and BLIS(R) (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross
Traffic Alert, which debuts in 2009. All three features use radar to detect
the relative position of other vehicles and warn the driver with a
combination of visual and audio alerts.
“The new Collision Warning with Brake Support technology puts us on the
leading edge of active safety to help customers detect and avoid possible
dangers,” said Paul Mascarenas, Ford vice president of engineering, Global
Product Development. “Ford will be the first to offer this technology on
mainstream models that many families can afford.”
Collision Warning with Brake Support builds on the basic function of
Adaptive Cruise Control, a driver-assistance feature that Ford introduced
on the 2009 Lincoln MKS. Adaptive Cruise Control uses radar to detect
moving vehicles immediately ahead and modify cruising speed if necessary.
“Adaptive Cruise Control really marked the beginning of pre-emptive
driver-assistance systems,” said Jerry Engelman, Adaptive Cruise Control
supervisor, Chassis Electronics. “Ford was able to use the radar technology
and experience to develop the Collision Warning with Brake Support system.”
Research indicates that Collision Warning with Brake Support could be
particularly helpful in warning a driver who is distracted or drowsy.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
the majority of accidents involve driver inattention. The agency’s research
found that one extra second of warning could prevent up to 90 percent of
rear-end collisions. CWBS offers three programmable alert settings ranging
from approximately 1.5 seconds to 2.5 seconds.
“It depends on the user’s preference, because one person’s false alarm
may be another person’s near miss, and it’s important that drivers are
comfortable with the system,” said Tom Pilutti, technical expert, Ford
Research and Advanced Engineering. “Some people have a slower reaction
time, and the longer time setting may meet their needs better than the
shorter setting. Our research shows that most drivers will prefer and feel
more comfortable with the longer default setting.”
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, forward
collision warning systems like Collision Warning with Brake Support have
the potential to help prevent the kind of rear-end crashes that occurred
2.3 million times per year from 2002-2006 — almost 40 percent of the total
crashes reported to police each year in the U.S.
BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert can
help provide extra confidence to drivers in parking lots by alerting
drivers sooner of nearby traffic while backing out. It uses two multiple
beam radar modules, which are packaged in the rear quarter panels. The
radar detects moving objects within a 65-foot range from either side of the
vehicle. The radar identifies when a vehicle enters the defined blind spot
zone and illuminates an indicator light on the corresponding side-view
mirror providing a warning that a vehicle is approaching. An audible alert
is sounded as well.
Researchers at Ford’s North American advanced driving simulator,
Virtual Test Track Experiment, dedicated most of the past few
years studying how active safety technologies in vehicles may better alert
drivers of potentially dangerous driving incidents.
“New technologies such as radar, cameras, lasers and GPS may enable us
to offer more safety and convenience features in the future,” said Jeff
Rupp, manager, Active Safety, Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford’s
Research and Innovation Center. “A key is identifying the kinds of warnings
that drivers will find both more effective and easier to understand.”
For Collision Warning with Brake Support, VIRTTEX researchers learned
drivers respond more quickly to certain audible alerts that are more
authoritative. Their research also shows some preference for a combination
of warnings — audio alerts backed up by a visual warning — such as those
that will be offered with Collision Warning with Brake Support system.
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