Collision-prevention technology

The number of pedestrians killed in urban traffic accidents could be reduced with new collision-prevention technology that automatically slows a car down when a person moves into its path.

Researchers based at

are working on developing such advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) with support from Jaguar Land Rover. The team, led by Ying Ping Huang and Ken Young from

, hope to have a proof of concept demonstration vehicle in three years.

Their technology would enable cars to use radar, lasers and camera sensors connected to a central control unit to detect and classify potential obstacles in city environments. The radar and lasers, mounted on the front of the car, would send radio waves and laser pulses respectively to determine the distance of potential obstacles. The range to the object would be determined by measuring the time delay between transmission of a wave or pulse and detection of the reflected signal.

Two camera sensors, installed on top of the windshield behind the rear-view window, would gather 3D images of the potential obstacle, a technique commonly used in mobile robotics. The cameras take two pictures of the same scene and computer software compares the images. The program uses the disparity (the amount the images shift) to calculate the object's distance.