Continental's Safer, Less Stressful Reversing

Accidents when moving into or out of parking spaces drive up insurance companies’ costs; reversing out of a parking space often leads to serious accidents involving personal injuries. When reversing out, the usual reason for these accidents is because drivers either fail to see a vehicle or cyclist approaching from the side or they see them too late. In order to avoid such accidents, Continental, the international automotive supplier, has developed an electronic aid for this maneuver as part of its ContiGuard® safety concept. The Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) system uses the same radar infrastructure used for detecting vehicles in the blind spot (Blind Spot Detection (BSD)). The BSD sensors have been suitably upgraded in order to be able to meet the requirement for greater precision. "This new driver assistance system makes use of our unique signal processing capability which has been upgraded so as to offer additional functions. Multiple use of the sensor hardware makes new advanced driver assistance systems more economical. And the more vehicles which are fitted with these systems, the safer our roads will become overall", said Wolfgang Fey, director development advanced driver assistance systems of Continental's Chassis & Safety Division. Initial series production of the new RTCA advanced driver assistance system is planned for 2013.
Like today's BSD systems, the 'Rear Cross Traffic Alert' (RCTA) is based on two short-range radar sensors. These two eyes, which are not visible behind the plastic bumper at the right and left rear corners of the vehicle, can each monitor a 120 degree angle. In addition to the BSD function, this relatively wide arc can also be used to detect vehicles crossing behind. This assumes, of course, that the vehicle is fitted with Continental's powerful radar sensors, which generate a precise image of the vehicle surrounding.

This is why Continental has specifically upgraded its existing BSD sensors and made them more accurate. "The challenge for an electronic aid like the RTCA is being able to reliably calculate the collision trajectory of the crossing vehicle", explained Norbert Hammerschmidt, head of advanced driver assistance systems customer programs. "What we need is precise data on the crossing vehicle's direction and speed and how far away it is. The new sensor generation provides us with this basic data. If it assesses a collision between the vehicles as probable, the system will warn the driver."

In the current demonstration vehicle configuration, the RTCA is designed to detect cars, motorcycles and bicycles that are within at least 35 meters and traveling at a speed of somewhere between 5 km/h and up to around 30 km/h. It will detect pedestrians, but only those who are walking quickly and directly towards the vehicle will trigger the warning. One of the RTCA's technical subtleties is that it can also detect vehicles which are turning while passing behind. If the advanced driver assistance system detects an imminent collision, a warning will sound and LEDs will light up in the interior rear view mirror to alert the driver. The warning strategy employed can, of course, be modified in agreement with the vehicle manufacturer. One possibility might be an additional warning light in the rear roof lining, for example. Another possible action could be for the vehicle's brakes to be automatically applied.