Continuing its development of advanced driver assistance systems, Wabco announced the future availability of OnLaneAssist, a system that builds on its camera-based OnLane lane departure warning system to provide automated steering corrections to keep the vehicle in its designated lane.
The system is capable of distinguishing between accidental lane drifting and an intentional lane change. If OnLane detects a drift, OnLaneAssist intervenes before the vehicle reaches the lane boundary, autonomously applying corrective torque to the steering wheel to return the vehicle to the center of the lane.
“We have for the first time in this country connected the power of controlled braking systems with active steering and are demonstrating how important it is as a technology on the path towards autonomous driving,” said Jacques Esculier, Wabco’s chairman and CEO, during a press conference at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta.
As part of its global active steering solutions strategy, Wabco recently acquired R.H. Sheppard, a Hanover, Penn.-based supplier of commercial vehicle steering technologies. It also signed a cooperative agreement with Nexteer Automotive, an intuitive motion control company, to supply active steering systems for commercial vehicles.
“The braking system is the backbone of vehicle dynamics control on the longitudinal access,” said Esculier. “Active steering gives us access to lateral control capabilities and provides full control of vehicle dynamics, and that is the major differentiator we are building around the acquisition of Sheppard.”
Wabco also announced its OnGuardPlatoon that combines the company’s OnGuardActive’s adaptive cruise control and active braking features with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) connectivity to link two or more trucks into a platoon.
“As you reduce the following distance, you significantly enhance the efficiency of both the following and leading vehicle,” said Esculier. “The name of the game is to find technologies to help reduce the following distance without sacrificing safety.”
