ADAS in road traffic
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are available in almost all new car models on the market. The level of automation of these systems ranges from warning and momentary assistance systems (SAE level 0), continuous lateral or longitudinal driver support (SAE level 1), to partial automation (SAE level 2). This report briefly describes the operation, safety benefits and challenges of ADAS.
Safety Benefits and Challenges
Generally, ADAS for collision avoidance show the greatest safety benefits. These systems support the driver only in hazardous situations, showing that here the added automation perception and quicker automation reaction times can indeed be beneficial for road safety. Also, Intelligent Speed Adaptation, especially when it is restrictive, is expected to significantly improve safety. With higher levels of automation the safety benefits are less clear.
ADAS also faces challenges such as driver-ADAS interaction. These challenges concern system transparency, trust, mode confusion, and keeping the driver attentive while monitoring the ADAS. Other challenges relate to interaction with other road users, mainly concerning the predictability of driving behaviour. Finally, ADAS is also faced with technological challenges such as detection accuracy, sensor ranges, and detection of vulnerable road users.