Especially in city traffic it
can happen that trucks turning right at corners hit cyclists or pedestrians.
For that reason, demands are growing for the compulsory installation of
right-turn assistants in trucks. However, EU-wide legislation is not expected
for at least a few years. This is why countries like Germany rely on the
voluntary commitment of the automotive and transport industries to install
right-turn assistants ex works or to retrofit trucks – and these systems are
already very popular because they help to prevent a great number of accidents.
Continental’s intensive work on the further development of the right-turn
assistant not only increases road safety but is also aimed at preventing false
alarms for drivers in the future.
Three generations of safety – from radar to camera to artificial intelligence
Modern assistance systems,
such as those which Continental already offers for original equipment, can warn
commercial vehicle drivers when a pedestrian or cyclist is in a blind spot. A
radar-based system like this determines the position of road users and
calculates the time until a possible collision will occur. The second
generation of the right-turn assistant will be even more efficient. It will
distinguish dangerous and non-hazardous situations with greater accuracy, and
to achieve this, the radar-based system will be expanded to include cameras. In
just a few years, the right-turn assistant will be able to interpret even
complex and unpredictable traffic situations accurately and warn the driver.
Automatic emergency braking is also technically feasible. Gesture recognition
is one of the systems used for this. It uses machine learning, artificial
neural networks and imaging techniques to detect an approaching cyclist much
earlier than was previously possible. Artificial intelligence also tells the
right-turn assistant in which direction a pedestrian or cyclist is likely to
move.
“Make the digital leap!” Continental presents innovations for the leap
into the digital age
The Continental Innovation
Truck, a demonstration vehicle, already has a system with gesture recognition
installed – and this system will be available to the series market in just a
few years. Visitors to the IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hanover can see both
generations of these systems in the Innovation Truck on the open-air grounds
and at Continental booth B11/A06 in Hall 17.
In line with the Continental
slogan, “Make the digital leap!”, the technology company will show how the
transport industry is making the leap to digitalization – and at the same time
creating an entirely new kind of efficiency potential. The focus will be on the
individual challenges faced by urban transport, the fleet office and
long-distance transport – Continental
will showcase a broad variety of solutions addressing these challenges. The
technology company’s motto for the 2016 IAA was “Tradition. Trust.
Transformation” – and Continental, remaining true to these 3T’s, will be
showing visitors that a leap into the digital world can create real
opportunities… and lead to more success.
In view of the rapidly growing
volume of urban traffic, it is becoming increasingly important to reduce
emissions and accidents. Continental’s answers to this issue promote
sustainable urban transport, helping to bring us closer to “Vision Zero” (zero
road deaths). The right-turn assistant is just one of many examples here. On
long-haul routes, legislative safety features – in response to the increasing
number of serious truck accidents – and stricter emission guidelines are
proving to be a challenge for manufacturers. And transport companies also have
to keep their fuel costs under control and maximize their operating times.
Efficiency is also the keyword in the fleet office. Faced by tough competition
and relatively small margins, any trucking company that wants to hold its own needs
a digital control center that also uses real-time data. With its digital
expertise and its broad portfolio of tires, air springs, drive technology,
driver assistance systems and fleet management solutions, Continental offers
the technologies that will lead to success in the commercial vehicle world –
and will meet the industry’s increasing demands.
Source:
Continental