Car manufacturer Honda is set to launch the world’s first predictive cruise control system capable of anticipating and responding automatically to other vehicle behaviour.
The Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC) utilises a camera and a radar to sense the position of other cars on the road. It then uses an algorithm to calculate the possibility of vehicles in neighbouring lanes cutting in.
It achieves this by evaluating relations between surrounding vehicles and allows the i-ACC fitted vehicle to respond quickly and safely.
Based on real-world research of typical European driving styles, the i-ACC will make its debut this year on Honda’s new European CR-V, advancing traditional Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems.
Traditional ACC systems keep a preselected longitudinal velocity, which is only reduced for sustaining a cautious distance from the car ahead. In the past, if a car cut in from a neighbouring lane, the traditional ACC system would respond later applying more powerful braking.
The i-ACC system is able to compute the probability of other vehicles cutting it up, up to five seconds before it happens. It is designed to respond smoothly to not startle the driver.
In the event of a potential lane intruder, the i-ACC employs the brake gently and lights an icon on the driver display, signalling to the driver why the deceleration has occurred.
Dr Marcus Kleinehagenbrock, responsible for i-ACC at Honda R&D Europe said: “i-ACC takes cruise control systems to a whole new level, offering what we call ‘predictive safety’.”
Additionally, i-ACC identifies the side of the road being driven on and automatically detects which of the surrounding vehicles should be regarded with the most concern at any given moment.
