No-crash computing for road safety

It's long been acknowledged that computers and computer peripherals are progressing at a remarkable rate. According to Moore's Law, the rate of improvement is doubling every two years, for everything from the storage capacity of computer memory modules to the number of pixels in a digital camera.

By contrast, the automotive industry fell way behind long ago. That's the theory. In practice, even the galloping computer industry cannot keep up with the demands for processing power in the latest generation of active safety systems being developed for high-end motor cars.

So says Ullrich Mellinghoff, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars Development Safety, NVH and Testing.

During the Frankfurt motor show last week, Mellinghoff explained how new systems on the drawing board will open up a new phase of automotive safety development. Progress has been slowed until now by the lack of appropriate levels of computing power, says Mellinghoff.

It's not so much that processor architecture hasn't advanced in leaps and bounds, but the prospective operating parameters for the in-car safety systems are so far beyond what has been required before now.

"Active safety needs very highly sophisticated systems to [monitor] the surroundings of the car -- like radar systems and stereo cameras," Mellinghoff explains.

"The main development focus there is how to operate with the information the radar and camera gives you. It is really a big problem, because you have such a huge amount of information when you film with the stereo camera, the area [in] front of the car.

"And you must select only that information which is important, for a decision you have to make -- in terms of: must you brake? -- A lot of other information is not relevant to that."

The issue is not just about technological advance in computer processing either. Also covered by Moore's Law is the cost of manufacturing processors sufficiently capable. With the price of the latest processors dropping to an affordable level, they're now cost-effective for use in automotive safety systems.

"This needs a very strong development in [recent] years and we are now able to use those systems, because price is low enough, the [processing] speed of the computers inside the car is fast enough and the algorithm is known," says Mellinghoff.

One example of what can be achieved with processors linked to forward-looking cameras is the car's ability to read, interpret and display speed restrictions in the instrument binnacle ahead of the driver -- something the Carsales Network was able to sample during a drive of the E 63 AMG from Stuttgart to Frankfurt the day before the motor show opened. That system not only interpreted straightforward speed limit signs, but could even display alternative restrictions for heavy commercial vehicles simultaneously.

It's the combination of lower cost, smarter algorithms and faster processing speed that has improved the performance of sophisticated active safety systems.

"That's the reason that those systems just now have come to market -- not only for Mercedes-Benz, but also for other companies," says Mellinghoff.

And other companies are likely to adopt Benz's active safety systems under development. History is strong testament to that. Anti-lock braking (if you ignore the mechanical system developed for the Jensen FF) and stability control were both pioneered by Mercedes-Benz, with assistance from Bosch. These two features have been widely adopted by car companies all around the world, irrespective of their market position relative to Benz.

Mellinghoff believes that the new systems under development will trickle down to the entry-level models in the Mercedes-Benz range. Although he doesn't say as much, the technology will presumably flow outwards to other companies also.

"We see the same situation always. We start the same advanced system in the top class -- S-Class or E-Class -- and when we [gain] more knowledge about those systems, we have ideas how to reduce the cost of those systems, we have more volume, which makes it cheaper also," Mellinghoff explains.

"This gives us a chance to bring those systems to smaller classes like C-Class, B-Class or A-Class.

"During the development, we know a lot of what is really necessary, in terms of such a system. Which information do you need absolutely and which is maybe not necessary.

"In the first step, we need all the information we can get. We start with all technical features, and after [gathering] more knowledge about the systems and components, we can reduce those features -- and this makes it cheaper also."

Distronic active cruise control, a system reliant on radar and computer processing to monitor the position of a car or truck ahead of the Mercedes to maintain the correct braking distance, has already begun to appear in the products of other car companies -- ahead of some of Daimler's own products.

"We are just developing a new radar-based -- but simpler -- system for A and B-Class... A cheaper Distronic system is in development now," says Mellinghoff.

Mercedes-Benz has looked at alternatives to radar and optical cameras, but Mellinghoff explains that these two types of devices, in combination, provide the clearest proximal environment data for the best safety outcome.

"We have tried out a lot of additional systems, because we are looking for a cheaper system, but what we have learned is there's no alternative to radar, which has the same quality of [imaging] and what have you," he says.

And how sophisticated can this radar/camera combination be?

"We think, with this, we have an additional positive focus, because then we not only can detect metal [objects] in front of us -- and their speed and acceleration -- but we can also detect pedestrians and we can also detect the whole traffic situation in front much better, which is necessary if you desire that maybe the car should [swerve] around the [obstacle].

Given cars can already take emergency braking out of the driver's control if Distronic recognises an impending crash, it's surely just a matter of time (with parking assist and electrically-assisted steering), before cars can swerve around objects without intervention by the driver.

What will take a lot of processing power though, is the car's brain working out how to avoid the drunk who has staggered out into the road while also avoiding the on-coming car. That's probably still a few years away yet...

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