TRW on the Radar Ahead of Euro NCAP Active Safety Ratings

LIVONIA, MI--July 9, 2012: TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. , is highlighting its full range of Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) technologies at a customer event in Hockenheim, Germany.  TRW is unveiling a new modular radar platform and next generation camera which will enable the Company to deliver advanced safety in an affordable and flexible way to meet the more stringent active and pedestrian safety criteria planned to be introduced by Euro NCAP from 2014 onwards.

Peter Lake, executive vice president for Sales and Business Development said: "TRW has vast experience in the DAS market, with our radar systems having been available on production models for over a decade. With several production awards and development contracts for our camera and radar technologies, our DAS business is in a strong position to help vehicle manufactures meet Euro NCAP's intended new 5 star rating criteria, particularly in terms of the increased pedestrian detection capability requirements."

Euro NCAP's next step is to promote the voluntary fitment of Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) by making it an important contributor to achieve a Euro NCAP 5 star safety rating, potentially from 2014. Additionally, the ability to protect pedestrians with an AEB system may be required by some vehicle models from 2016 to gain the 5 star rating in the pedestrian category, depending on their passive safety performance.

TRW continues to develop its DAS portfolio to assist vehicle manufacturers in acquiring the top ratings across all relevant categories: without such advanced active safety systems a 5 star rating may not be achievable under the new criteria.

Alois Seewald, global director, Cognitive Safety Integration for TRW, added: "We are working on our third generation camera technology which will be capable of processing higher resolution images to enable an extended sensing range and improved pedestrian detection functionality.

"Also, our next generation modular AC1000 radar platform will provide sensors with a number of safety and convenience functions, with performance optimized to meet the Euro NCAP requirements for AEB.  Having reviewed the proposed new test procedures, we are confident that these new TRW technologies are affordable solutions to support customers in delivering the safety everyone deserves."

TRW's radars can offer a full range of DAS functions including Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), AEB, Blind Spot Detection (BSD) and Side Impact Sensing (SIS), while our cameras offer Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) or Lane Centering Assist (LCA), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) and pedestrian detection for AEB among other features. 

At the event, TRW also highlighted its 24 GHz radar (AC100) in combination with its scalable video camera (S-CAM) to enable pedestrian detection with AEB. The system fuses information from the sensors and if a pedestrian is detected, sophisticated risk assessment algorithms are employed to determine the probability of a collision by taking into account the predicted paths of the vehicle and the pedestrian. A warning is then issued, or if no action is taken, brake pressure is initiated with the aim of slowing the vehicle and helping to reduce the severity of the impact.  These technologies are due to launch in the 2014 timeframe.