The future of automotive safety standards is rapidly evolving!
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has officially established a fresh Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard mandating the inclusion of automatic emergency braking (AEB), encompassing pedestrian AEB, as a default feature in all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029. This safety measure is poised to notably diminish rear-end collisions and incidents involving pedestrians.
AEB systems utilize sensors to identify proximity to potential collisions with vehicles or pedestrians ahead and autonomously engage the brakes in the absence of driver intervention. Pedestrian AEB technology will be functional both during daylight and in low-light conditions, thereby significantly curbing injuries, property damage, and the associated expenses resulting from such accidents.
This change will not happen only in the US. Euro NCAP’s Vision 2030 roadmap also sets an ambitious goal: zero fatalities on the road. This goal demands a significant shift from traditional crash protection to proactive crash avoidance across the full spectrum of scenarios.
Prior to Vision 2030, Euro NCAP’s safety rating was based on four areas of assessment: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection, and safety assist. From 2030, their new criteria for ratings will include safe driving, crash avoidance, crash protection, and post-crash safety. In particular, the crash avoidance assessment focuses on testing technologies like lane keep support systems, automatic emergency braking, autonomous emergency steering, etc. Further, because NCAP has also added nighttime testing to ensure that these technologies are effective in various lighting conditions (which has proven problematic in the past).
These new standards are strict. They mandate that all vehicles be capable of halting and evading collisions at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour, and discerning pedestrians in varying lighting conditions, from daylight to darkness. The standard further dictates that the system must automatically engage the brakes when a potential collision with a leading vehicle is imminent, operate effectively at speeds of up to 90 mph, and similarly respond to pedestrian detection at speeds of up to 45 mph. Given these stringent requirements, how can OEMS ensure their cars perform to the standard and achieve the coveted 5-star safety rating?
The key to success or failure is in the sensors they incorporate to power their advanced capabilities.
While cameras play an important role in autonomous sensing, they have limitations in glare, low light, harsh weather, and long-range detection. This is where the next-generation perception radar enters the scene. The power of perception radar is surround-view awareness; it acts as a comprehensive “eye,” mapping the entire environment, including pedestrians, cyclists, and other vehicles, with unparalleled precision.
Traditional radars simply do not have these capabilities. And even more advanced radars, without a 2K channel count, will not be able to support AEB in all scenarios due to limited dynamic range, which can prevent it from identifying small objects on the road where there are other highly reflecting objects such as commercial vehicles.
Regulators are making significant strides in mandating the widespread adoption of next-generation safety measures. While automotive safety regulations refrain from specifying particular technologies, we believe that technology is key for this important step forward, and perception radar is the right sensor to fulfill the NHTSA and NCAP vision.
As OEMs navigate the roadmap towards 2029 in the US and 2030 in Europe, future-proofing their cars must be top of mind. The secret in achieving true safety lies in sensor fusion: combining the strengths of cameras and radars. Much like human perception, which relies on multiple senses, sensor fusion creates a comprehensive picture of the environment and is critical, especially when detecting pedestrians and two wheelers, at high-speed, and at challenging lighting and weather conditions.
Investing in vehicle safety is an investment in the future. By understanding the changing landscape and choosing the right technology, automakers can navigate the road toward a future where zero fatalities become a reality.
————————————
This blog contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “may,” “should,” “strategy,” “future,” “will,” “project,” “potential” and similar expressions indicate forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the risk and uncertainties resulting from the October 7th attack upon Israel, conflicts and potential conflicts involving Israel and the effect of the reaction to the war against Hamas on Israeli companies, particularly high tech companies as well as market acceptance of Arbe’s radar processor and Arbe’s radar processor performing in the manner which Arbe anticipates, and the risk and uncertainties described in “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and “Item 3. Key Information – Risk Factors” Arbe’s Annual Report on Form 20-F/A for the year ended December 31, 2023, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2024 as well as other documents filed by Arbe with the SEC. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate only to the date they were made, and Arbe does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made except as required by law or applicable regulation. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, Arbe’s website or any other website or social media is expressly not incorporated by reference into and is not a part of this blog.
Connect to learn more
© Arbe , All rights reserved