New Technologies For Crash Avoidance

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New Technology Designed By Ford:

Ford Motor Company’s researchers are developing advanced crash avoidance systems that use wireless and GPS technologies to help vehicles communicate with each other in traffic and help drivers avoid or mitigate accidents.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 40 percent of all traffic accidents occur in intersections where side-impact collisions are most common.

Ford’s Automatic Braking Intersection Collision Avoidance System (ABICAS), which is under development, uses radio-based wireless sensors, GPS, and navigation information to detect the relative location of other radio-equipped test vehicles. The system is being designed to warn drivers of imminent side-impact collisions and automatically activate the brakes if necessary to avoid or minimize the damage caused by such collisions.

ABICAS is enabled by wireless vehicle-to-vehicle communications, and works in conjunction with radar- and camera-based driver assist features, such as adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support, which are available on many Ford vehicles.

In Germany, Ford is collaborating on a wireless research project with other automakers and the government in an effort to address congestion-related traffic safety issues. The Safe and Intelligent Mobility—Test Field Germany research project is a 400-vehicle field-test to evaluate feasibility and scalability of wireless systems in the real world.  Ford is working closely with governments, standards organizations, and other global automakers to develop harmonized global standards to support and accelerate the deployment of this technology.

New Technology Designed By Nissan: 

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. announced its "Forward Collision Avoidance Assist Concept," a new technology designed to address both sides of potential rear end collisions: helping a driver avoid hitting the vehicle ahead in a lane of travel, while also helping reduce the potential risk of sudden braking when being rear-ended by a vehicle approaching from behind. The new system has the capability of avoiding possible collisions at forward speeds of up to approximately 60kph, the highest speed ever for forward collision avoidance systems.

Nissan is promoting the development of safety technologies as part of its "Safety Shield" concept, based on the idea that "vehicles help to protect people." From the viewpoint that the driver is always the main subject of driving, Nissan places emphasis on assisting the driver intuitively through means such as visual and audio notifications.