Various Aspects of the Active Cruise Control Technology for the BMW Vehicles - Case Study Example

Table of Contents page 1.0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………….2 2.0 Active Cruise Control (ACC)……………………………………………………......3 3.0 Operation of Active Cruise Control system…………………………………………4 4.0 Stop and Go functions of the ACC system………………………………………….5 5.0 Components of the Active Cruise Control system…………………………………..6 5.1 Radar-based or laser-based systems………………………………………...7 5.2 Assisting systems…………………………………………………………….8 5.3 Multi-sensor systems………………………………………………………………..8 5.4 Co-ordinative systems……………………………………………………....8 6.0 Advantages of the Active Cruise Control system…………………………………..9 7.0 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………....10 8.0 Works Cited …………………………………………………………………….....11 1.0 Introduction Technology has revolutionised greatly the way we carry out activities in the modern world. Technological advancements that have taken place within a span of ten years have changed lives completely (Horatiu 2010). These advancements are not only visible in the medical field but also in motor vehicle manufacturing industry. From increased comfort to increased safety of the passengers as well as better efficiency in terms of fuel consumption, technology has brought significant changes particularly in the way we interact and drive cars. Among other key players in the automotive industry, BMW has led in the innovation of comfortable, safe as well as environmentally friendly vehicles pushing the innovation gear further (Horatiu par 2). Safety of the driver and the car occupants has been the main concern in the past few years. This has led to the design and development of Active Cruise Control that serves as a great boost to the driver because the technology makes it possible for the car to move along the motorway without significant input of the driver (Horatiu par 3). The purpose of this paper is to explore the various aspects of the Active Cruise Control (ACC) technology. The investigation will be based on BMW with particular emphasis on how the technology works for the BMW vehicles. 2.0 Active Cruise Control (ACC) Active Cruise Control makes driving on busy freeways and highways more relaxing and safe. Active cruise control ensures that the vehicle moves at the desired speed while ensuring that a safe distance is maintained between one vehicle and the other in the same lane (Horatiu par 3). This is made possible by the radar sensors located permanently in front of the vehicle whose function is to scan the road. The radar sensors detect any object in front of the vehicle. Power output of the vehicle is reduced automatically when the vehicle approaches an object or another low moving vehicle ahead (Horatiu par 5). (Horatiu 2010). When the road becomes clear, ACC increases the speed of the vehicle up to the desired speed which has been pre-programmed (Hara 2004). A touch of the brake pedal or the accelerator of the vehicle results into deactivation of the system thus making driving a BMW safe and comfortable all the time. The Active Cruise Control plays a significant role in negotiating bends and curves. The technology functions through the navigation system and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) mechanism to provide safe negotiation of curves and bends (Hara 14). Using the DSC system, Active Cruise Control calculates the needed cruise speed to negotiate a curve and it adjusts the speed according to the situation of the road. (Hara 2004). ACC determines the number of vehicles in the neighbouring and in the same lane and helps the driver to make a safe curve without distracting other motorists in the neighbouring or same lane (Hara 17). The operation of the Active Cruise Control is assured year round because heating of the radar sensor is also achieved during cold weathers. The Active Cruise Control functions effectively when the car moves at an average speed of 30km/h to speed below 200km/h (Hara 21). The button and the paddle located on the steering wheel helps to control the speed of the vehicle but this depends on the model of the vehicle. The Active Cruise Control is not an automatic piloting gear of the vehicle and thus the driver performs his duty of directing the car (Hara 22). A visual message and a warning sound are produced by the ACC when a sudden need for emergency deceleration is detected. The driver is given a cautionary signal first and then a red symbol of a car appears alerting the driver of any emergence ahead that requires sudden deceleration. In order to apply emergency brakes, ACC system helps the driver by reducing the distance between the brake disks and brake pads which gives the driver an easy application of emergency brakes. 3.0 Operation of Active Cruise Control system ACC has radar eyes and just like human beings, ACC uses its radar eyes to recognize any object located more than 120 metres ahead of the vehicle. This is made possible through the application of the overlapping radar beams in the car (Bloch 2010). The function of the radar beams is to reflect the vehicles ahead and send the reflection signal to the sensors. The reflection taken by the sensors is immediately send to the Active Cruise Control system where immediate calculation is performed by the system regarding the need for speed adjustment (high or low) depending on whether the road is clear or not. A simple block diagram of how the ACC operates can be seen below; (Bloch 2010). Radar sensor is not the only mechanism through which ACC system gets information required to make necessary adjustments. Additional sensors such as DSC, ASC+ T and ABS are other types of sensors located in the Chassis control system that feeds ACC with information about the condition of the car on the road (Bloch par 3). These additional sensors provide CC with information such as revolution of the wheels, pitch levels of the vehicle and data regarding forces acting on the vehicle such as centripetal and centrifugal forces. All these data is fed into the computer connected to the system of the vehicle. Using this data, ACC system calculates the next curve path on the highway and alerts the driver immediately. ACC changes the gear automatically when the car is ascending on a hill. This applies also when the car descends on a hill (Bloch par 5). This reduces the wear and tear of the brake wheel. However, in poor weather conditions such as slippery roads, heavy fog or rain and heavy rains, the ACC system switches off to allow the driver to judge the conditions on the road and react accordingly without the help of the ACC system. Even though ACC works effectively in freeway and highways, it can function effectively in tertiary and secondary roads (Bloch par 6). 4.0 Stop and Go functions of the ACC system The stop and go functions that make up the ACC system helps the driver to drive safely and comfortably in heavy traffic. As mentioned above, the ACC system maintains safe distance between two cars on the same lane and the speed of the car can be reduced to zero depending on the situation or as the situation demands (Bloch par 7). Hence, the stop and go functions are objectively designed to assist the driver in highways and freeways by reducing and increasing the speed of the vehicle according to the desired distance that need to be observed along the road. The Technology and Research Group at BMW have included more features to the BMW Stop and Go functions to comprise guidance functions such as Queuing and Traffic Jam assistant. Applying this technology, the BMW car is perceived as taking control of its own steering wheel (Bloch par 8). On the basis of the markings that appear on the road and particularly the road signs situated along the road, the BMW car can through its camera technology anticipate the condition of the road ahead, especially, ascending, descending, bends and curves. These translates into an automatic adjustment of speed of the car to suit the place of the road the car approaches (curves and bends). The Queuing Assistant and Traffic Jam project team at BMW noted that the purpose of the ACC system is to help the driver in situations that seem tricky while driving the car on the freeway or highway (Felix 2009). This does not mean that the driver should not perform his work because by taking his hands away from the steering wheel the ACC system id deactivated automatically and it issues an alert to the driver that his hands are off the steering wheel. This is a safety method because the Active Cruise Control system in BMW vehicles can tempt the driver to think that the car can control itself on the toad and thus fail to direct the car as the driver. The action of the driver is required at any time in the driving process. This is especially the case when the road has inadequate road markings or the car approaches a tight corner where the radar sensors in front of the car cannot pick sufficient signals that can help the ACC system make calculations (Felix 2009). In such situations, the ACC system switches itself off automatically to give room to the driver to make decision that suit the condition of the road path. Other significant sensors in the ACC system include parking aids, detectors of blind-spots, set-belt tensioning sensors and pre-arming airbag sensors. Also included in the ACC system is the potential crash forewarning sensor that alerts the driver of the potential crash with another vehicle or an object on the road (Felix 2009). In such a situation, the Active Cruise Control system deploys the airbag to the occupants of the vehicle and positions the occupant of the vehicle into a place where they can be safeguarded by the airbag from the crash. 5.0 Components of the Active Cruise Control system 5.1Radar-based or laser-based systems This is one of the main components of the whole ACC network in the car. The function of the radar and laser-based systems is to track and detect vehicles ahead of the BMW car (Felix 2009). However, these systems might not function effectively when the car ahead is extremely dirty because the radar or laser system might not pick up the signal of the reflectors of the car ahead. The radar and the laser-based sensors pick and issue quality signs when they are fairly exposed. The radar sensor in the BMW is packaged behind a panel made of plastic plate. The BMW 5, 6 and 7 series are some of the models of BMW vehicles fitted with single radar systems located at the corners of the vehicle (Felix 2009). 5.2 Assisting systems The assisting systems have been explained in the sections above. It comprises the precrash system that provides support to the car brakes and warns the driver in advance of a collision. It also comprises of the lane system that provides support to the steering wheel that guides the car in its lane particularly in sharp bends and corners. Appropriate action such as deployment of the airbag to safeguard the passengers is performed by the ACC system in order to prevent the passengers from sustaining serious injuries in case of the collision (Felix 2009). Car manufacturers’ advice that the driver is the ultimate controller of the car fitted with the ACC system and thus should not forfeit his duty by allowing the ACC system to take over the control of the vehicle (Felix 2009). Forfeiting the driver’s duty has been cited as one of the contributing factors to increased accident rates involving cars fitted with ACC system. 5.3 Multi-sensor systems This is another component included in the Active Cruise Control system. It comprises mainly of the navigation system that uses GPS to provide information to the ACC system in the vehicle. In addition to assisting the driver maintain safe distance between his car and the car ahead, the GPS system also provides information about the intended decision of the driver ahead such as exit from the main road (Hellen 2010). This is because the navigation system applying GPS takes into account certain road marks such as road exit routes and signals accordingly when the car ahead slows down to exit from the road. When the car ahead signals a left or right turn, this signal is picked by the GPS system and relayed back to the ACC system (Hellen 2010). Instead of reducing the speed of the car, the ACC system provides an uninterruption sign because it recognizes that the decision of the car ahead does not affect the speed of the car behind. 5.4 Co-ordinative systems This system in the BMW car is aimed at providing communication signals to the car ahead and behind. Although, this system is still in its prime design stage, it is a co-operative system because other cars must be fitted with the communication signals. The purpose of the cooperative system is to do avoid the use of longitudinal oscillations because the communication between vehicles in a queue would help to adjust the speed of the vehicles (Hellen 2010). However, as stated above, this is a technological proposal to be fitted into the ACC system but needs other vehicles to also be fitted with the same system. 6.0 Advantages of the Active Cruise Control system As stated above, one of the clear advantages of the Active Cruise Control system in BMW vehicles is that it increases the safety of the car when on freeway, highway and other types of roads. This is made possible by the fact that the ACC system helps in adjusting the speed of the vehicle depending on the situation of the road ahead (Teagas 2010). If the road ahead is unclear, the ACC system adjusts the speed of the vehicle to the minimum and the speed is subsequently increased when the road ahead is clear. This keeps the driver safe and out of danger for over speeding especially when the driver is drunk. The second advantage of the ACC system is that it provides safety for the car occupants because it warns the driver in advance of any impending or probability of a crash. When such a warning appears, the ACC takes appropriate action by deploying the airbags that protects the occupants of the car from injuries. In this regard, the ACC system serves as the safe gadget that provides a safe atmosphere for the people riding in the car. The third advantage of the ACC system is that it provides the driver with a wide range of information when on the road and it ensures that the driver is actively involved in directing the vehicle. This is because when the driver takes off his hands from the steering wheel the ACC system is automatically switched off (Teagas 2010). It does not take the role of the driver but assists the driver in making key decisions while on the freeway or highway. Hence, the ACC system is a technological advancement that offers a safe and comfortable environment for driving the BMW car. In spite of the above advantages, one the clear disadvantages of ACC system is that it can take away the concentration of the driver from the road because much of the work is performed by the ACC system. For example, the ACC system assists in slowing down the vehicle and maintaining the required distance with the vehicle ahead (Teagas 2010). This is the prime job of the driver and thus the driver may be tempted to ignore his role when driving a car fitted with the ACC system. This tendency of the driver to ignore his roles when driving may be transferred to other vehicles without the ACC system causing serious harm to the driver and car occupants. 7.0 Conclusion The technological advancement in the modern world continues to create conducive operating environment in most industries and particularly the automotive industry. BMW is one of the automakers that have steered ahead of the technological advancements in the automotive industry with its Active Cruise Control system. Even though, this system is not intended to take the role of the driver, it assists the driver in making key decision when driving the vehicle on freeways and highways as well as other types of roads. It provides the driver with appropriate warnings depending on the situation on the road. Works Cited Bloch, A. BMW: the Giant of Technological advancement. Automotive industry, 2010. Felix, M. The Technological Era: Active Cruise Control in BMW. Oxford: Oxford University Publishers, 2009. Hara, M. “Safety first: ACC puts BMW ahead of safety technological advancements in the automotive industry, 2004. “New York: Sage Publishers. Hellen, M. Developing high speed but safe vehicles. Journal of Technology, 2010, vol, 4, No.16 Horatiu, B. BMW make self-drive car with Active Cruise Control, 2010. http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/10/10/bmw-makes-self-drive-car-with-active-cruise-control Teagas, K. Self Drive vehicles: Are we there Yet? Understanding the role of ACC system in a BMW car. Press release, 2010. Read More