Skip to main content

ADAS goes mainstream in Europe says Frost & Sullivan

Providing sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like driver monitoring system, lane departure warning, intelligent headlamp control and traffic sign recognition to compact cars such as the Ford Focus or Citroen C4 has helped to bring down driver assistance systems from high-end cars to mass-volume compact cars.
March 21, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Providing sophisticated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like driver monitoring system, lane departure warning, intelligent headlamp control and traffic sign recognition to compact cars such as the 3423 Ford Focus or 3498 Citroen C4 has helped to bring down driver assistance systems from high-end cars to mass-volume compact cars.

According to Frost & Sullivan, technological developments such as the integration of radar and camera as well as sensor fusion between multiple applications are enabling a price reduction which may well lead to a 40 per cent penetration of ADAS in compact cars by 2018.

“ADAS is surely set to be more popular over the next decade as it will help achieve the 1116 European Union's Transport Policy 2011–2020 which aims to reduce road fatalities by 50 per cent,” says Frost & Sullivan research analyst Manish Garg. “The growth of ADAS technology is certain as suppliers no longer stop with just developing a sensor for the premium vehicle segment and waiting for it to gain popularity. Instead, they take into account the requirements of all vehicle segments to develop a portfolio of sensors. To achieve the European Union's target, it is therefore important to develop more low-cost DAS technologies and enable a wider acceptance of the safety systems.”

According to the Accident Research of the 4117 German Insurance Association (GDV), lane departure warning alone can prevent up to 15 per cent of road fatalities. Similarly, intersection assist can prevent up to 35 per cent of accidents in Germany.

Suppliers like 3402 Continental, 4116 TRW and 3405 Bosch are working closely with OEMs right from product concept to developing low-cost ADAS systems such as lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, intelligent headlamp control and driver monitoring for midsized and compact cars as these are the segments that will help achieve economies of scale and bring down the price.

Continental recently developed a low-cost integrated ADAS system capable of performing multiple functions such as lane departure warning, intelligent headlamp control and driver monitoring system. TRW's 24GHz forward-looking radar, a low-cost substitute for the camera, has been able to drive down the cost of DAS technology and is available as an option on the Lancia Delta hatchback. PSA 3504 Peugeot Citroen on the other hand has been capable of developing multiple low cost ADAS for their cars.

“There is no reason to consider driver assistance as a luxury status symbol due to their high price and availability on high end luxury cars,” Garg believes. “Instead, a wider rollout of ADAS technology in European compact vehicles is expected over the next 2–3 years. Potential future regulations for ADAS systems following the truck and bus regulations already in place, and the introduction of insurance incentives would certainly assist in bringing DAS even to the compact and subcompact vehicles segment.”

“Sync revolutionised the infotainment market by bringing the hi-tech infotainment system to low-end cars; similarly, the low-cost multi-functional camera is set to revolutionise the safety market by bringing hi-end technology to compact cars,” concludes Garg.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2017 will help you imagine what’s next
    March 15, 2017
    What sort of key trends will be on show, and how will these new technologies shape the sector over the coming years? Alan Dron interviewed Al Cervero, the AEM senior vice-president for construction, utility and mining on how the show will reveal what is coming. The theme for this year’s event is “Imagine what’s next”, a particularly appropriate title in view of the changes in both technology and the environment in which that technology will be used.
  • Tackling India’s road safety will reduce crash rate
    February 19, 2013
    India’s road safety record is the world’s worst but there are plans to tackle the problems. Patrick Smith reports from New Delhi. A speeded up video of a short section of road in the Indian capital Delhi was followed by a question. “How many infringements did you count in that 25-second clip on a typical day in Delhi,” asked Dr Rohit Baluja, a question that brought understandable silence. It equated to hundreds of millions of infringements each year, said Dr Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Educ
  • Tackling Indian road safety
    December 5, 2012
    India’s road safety record is the world’s worst but there are plans to tackle the problems. Patrick Smith reports from New Delhi. A speeded up video of a short section of road in the Indian capital Delhi was followed by a question. “How many infringements did you count in that 25-second clip on a typical day in Delhi,” asked Dr Rohit Baluja, a question that brought understandable silence. It equated to hundreds of millions of infringements each year, said Dr Baluja, president, Institute of Road Traffic Educ
  • Road pricing revenue a source of investment funds
    February 16, 2012
    When channelled back into the road sector, revenue from road charging is seen by many as a source of additional investment and research funds as Patrick Smith reports. Late in 2010, three major European organisations put out a policy statement calling for fair charging for greener, smarter and safer road infrastructure. ASECAP (the European toll road operators organisation); ERF (European Road Federation) and the IRU (International Road Transport Union), said that in recent years the concept of road chargin