The Role of 24GHz Short-Range Radar in Automotive Park Assist
ADAS Application Becoming More Readily Available
By 2013, more 30 million vehicles equipped with Ultrasonic Park Assist (UPA) will be sold worldwide, iSuppli Corp. predicts. UPA already is available on more than 70 percent of 2009 model year nameplates in Germany, 40 percent in Japan and 50 percent in the United States.
The market for park-assist solutions currently is dominated by ultrasonic object detection and ranging, but 24GHz short-range radar has the potential to displace ultrasonic transducers as the enabling technology for park assist
solutions.
Ultrasonic Park Assist
The history of park assist and ultrasonic object detection and ranging have been inexorably intertwined since Valeo first introduced the world to UPA in 1991. The first production automobile to feature Valeo UPA was the 1991 BMW 7 Series.
By 2005, Valeo had sold more than 50 million UPA sensors. That same year, Valeo, anticipating further growth, announced a joint venture with Hangsheng Electronics, a Chinese automotive parts supplier, to produce UPA system components.
With the exception of a handful of Ford and Lincoln nameplates, every park-assist solution on the market uses ultrasonic transducers. Ultrasonic transducers are simple, small and relatively inexpensive. The transducers emit high-frequency sound waves and evaluate the echoes that result from the sound waves bouncing off of objects. The resultant information can be used to determine the existence and relative position of objects a short distance
from the vehicle.
The range of most ultrasonic transducers is limited to between 20 centimeters and 1.8 meters. The limited field-of--vision of ultrasonic transducers necessitates the placement of a series of three or more ultrasonic transducers along the bumper of the vehicle to provide sufficient object-detection coverage.
Park-assist applications, by their very nature, necessitate operation at slow speeds. Thus, the relatively short range of ultrasonic transducers is arguably appropriate for parking applications. Valeo also has proven that ultrasonic
object detection and ranging are robust enough for some active driver-assist applications.
Enter Short-Range Radar
As early as 2002, Delphi has offered a short-range radar based park-assist solution as part of its line-up of ADAS solutions. The first-generation system used a single 17GHz radar module and two ultrasonic transducers, one on either side of the radar module. The ultrasonic sensors monitored the blind spots in the 17GHz radar module’s field of vision.
In 2005, Delphi introduced a second generation of the system, called Back-Up Aid (BUA). The upgrade did away with ultrasonic sensors altogether. Instead, it uses a dual-beam 24GHz radar module that covers a 5- by 2.1-meter wide area behind the vehicle.
Drivers benefit from the short-range radar module, because the longer range increases the amount of time that drivers have to respond to changes in the distance notifications. The increased range of the dual-beam radar module also allows BUA to offer audible and visual alerts that can change according to the vehicle’s speed.
Consumer Recognition
At the time Delphi introduced BUA, there were no other driver-assist solutions on the market that utilized short-range radar. The 2007 model year Audi Q7 was the first production vehicle to feature a factory-installed radar-based side-object detection system. That system is supplied by Hella, and uses a 24GHz radar module with a 50-meter range.
Over the past three years, availability of short-range radar-based side-object detection systems has grown from one to 18 nameplates. Delphi’s BUA, however, is still only available as factory-fit equipment on the Ford Expedition, Ford Explorer, Lincoln Navigator and Lincoln Town Car nameplates.
Conclusion
Ford recently went to great lengths to publicize the introduction of new driver assist solutions on its 2010 model line. On the other hand, the company neglected to mention the availability of radar-based ultrasonic park assist on its model lines for the past five years. Information about the radar-based park-assist solution option on the Ford and Lincoln model lines is difficult to find, even if you know what you are looking for.
Numerous automobile manufacturers, Nissan in particular, have launched global marketing campaigns to publicize their goal of providing 360-degree object detection and ranging coverage around the perimeter of the vehicle that goes beyond the functionality of passive ultrasonic park assist systems. Ironically, Ford may be closer to that ideal than most, seemingly without even realizing it.
By 2013, more 30 million vehicles equipped with Ultrasonic Park Assist (UPA) will be sold worldwide, iSuppli Corp. predicts. UPA already is available on more than 70 percent of 2009 model year nameplates in Germany, 40 percent in Japan and 50 percent in the United States.
The market for park-assist solutions currently is dominated by ultrasonic object detection and ranging, but 24GHz short-range radar has the potential to displace ultrasonic transducers as the enabling technology for park assist
solutions.
Ultrasonic Park Assist
The history of park assist and ultrasonic object detection and ranging have been inexorably intertwined since Valeo first introduced the world to UPA in 1991. The first production automobile to feature Valeo UPA was the 1991 BMW 7 Series.
By 2005, Valeo had sold more than 50 million UPA sensors. That same year, Valeo, anticipating further growth, announced a joint venture with Hangsheng Electronics, a Chinese automotive parts supplier, to produce UPA system components.
With the exception of a handful of Ford and Lincoln nameplates, every park-assist solution on the market uses ultrasonic transducers. Ultrasonic transducers are simple, small and relatively inexpensive. The transducers emit high-frequency sound waves and evaluate the echoes that result from the sound waves bouncing off of objects. The resultant information can be used to determine the existence and relative position of objects a short distance
from the vehicle.
The range of most ultrasonic transducers is limited to between 20 centimeters and 1.8 meters. The limited field-of--vision of ultrasonic transducers necessitates the placement of a series of three or more ultrasonic transducers along the bumper of the vehicle to provide sufficient object-detection coverage.
Park-assist applications, by their very nature, necessitate operation at slow speeds. Thus, the relatively short range of ultrasonic transducers is arguably appropriate for parking applications. Valeo also has proven that ultrasonic
object detection and ranging are robust enough for some active driver-assist applications.
Enter Short-Range Radar
As early as 2002, Delphi has offered a short-range radar based park-assist solution as part of its line-up of ADAS solutions. The first-generation system used a single 17GHz radar module and two ultrasonic transducers, one on either side of the radar module. The ultrasonic sensors monitored the blind spots in the 17GHz radar module’s field of vision.
In 2005, Delphi introduced a second generation of the system, called Back-Up Aid (BUA). The upgrade did away with ultrasonic sensors altogether. Instead, it uses a dual-beam 24GHz radar module that covers a 5- by 2.1-meter wide area behind the vehicle.
Drivers benefit from the short-range radar module, because the longer range increases the amount of time that drivers have to respond to changes in the distance notifications. The increased range of the dual-beam radar module also allows BUA to offer audible and visual alerts that can change according to the vehicle’s speed.
Consumer Recognition
At the time Delphi introduced BUA, there were no other driver-assist solutions on the market that utilized short-range radar. The 2007 model year Audi Q7 was the first production vehicle to feature a factory-installed radar-based side-object detection system. That system is supplied by Hella, and uses a 24GHz radar module with a 50-meter range.
Over the past three years, availability of short-range radar-based side-object detection systems has grown from one to 18 nameplates. Delphi’s BUA, however, is still only available as factory-fit equipment on the Ford Expedition, Ford Explorer, Lincoln Navigator and Lincoln Town Car nameplates.
Conclusion
Ford recently went to great lengths to publicize the introduction of new driver assist solutions on its 2010 model line. On the other hand, the company neglected to mention the availability of radar-based ultrasonic park assist on its model lines for the past five years. Information about the radar-based park-assist solution option on the Ford and Lincoln model lines is difficult to find, even if you know what you are looking for.
Numerous automobile manufacturers, Nissan in particular, have launched global marketing campaigns to publicize their goal of providing 360-degree object detection and ranging coverage around the perimeter of the vehicle that goes beyond the functionality of passive ultrasonic park assist systems. Ironically, Ford may be closer to that ideal than most, seemingly without even realizing it.
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