Europe Drives TRW’s Advanced Lane-Keeping, Braking Systems

Europe will begin phasing in lane-departure warning and automatic braking systems on heavy commercial trucks next year and require it in all new trucks by the end of 2015.

A de facto standard for both technologies appears likely by 2014 for passenger vehicles in the region. In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is moving toward a mandate that would require both technologies.

Those fast-developing markets are helping to drive development of advanced versions of both technologies at TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. The company demonstrated its work earlier this month at its proving ground in Williamson, Mich.

TRW's advanced lane-departure warning system works with electric steering and forward-facing video that tracks the lane's edge and center line. One version simply warns a driver who drifts from the intended traffic lane.

A more sophisticated iteration automatically provides corrective steering to return the vehicle to the center of the lane. TRW says the system can actually steer the car without the driver for a few moments before it automatically deactivates.

The lane-keeping system uses TRW's new S-Cam sensor, which was developed with Netherlands-based Mobileye N.V. Built on a single computer chip, the camera can be used for headlamp control, lane detection, traffic signal recognition and vehicle detection. The system is in use in Europe now and will debut in the American market in 2013.

The company said earlier today it is working with Mobileye on a third-generation S-Cam sensor that enhances pedestrian detection and can be used in low-speed automatic emergency braking systems.

TRW is already incorporating automatic braking in its adaptive cruise control systems. The company also offers impending crash warning systems, often designed to work with seatbelt pretensioners and other crash-preparation technologies.