ABI: Radar Positioned to Lead Active Safety Market
January 15, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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With passive safety systems in place, the automotive industry is now looking to active safety systems to help reduce driver error on the road, according to ABI Research.
Many studies have shown that leaving the road or making a lane change without checking the blind spot are major causes of traffic accidents, as is running into the back of another vehicle.
These incidents are mostly due to driver error, mainly inattention. Analysts said the new generation of driver assistance systems is designed to watch the road and surrounding vehicles and warn the driver, or help the driver, if anything potentially dangerous is about to happen.
"All the latest driver assistance systems use some form of obstacle detection technology to constantly monitor what is going on around the vehicle," said ABI Research principal analyst David Alexander.
"Ultrasonics, radar, lidar and cameras all play a role in currently available technology, but we see some trends emerging that indicate a shift toward radar sensors as the key technology over the next five years."
Analysts said ultrasonics is the technology of choice for parking assistance, but even that domain could be challenged in the future as radar and camera technology become less expensive and more powerful.
"We see significant growth in this market over the next five years; and as volumes grow, the component costs are going to decline significantly," said Alexander. "The migration from luxury to mainstream vehicles will be accompanied by a trend toward multiple functions for greater added value to the end consumer."
Source: ABI Research.