This project developed and tested a low-cost crash avoidance sensing system for over-the-road class 8 trucks, by testing and integrating several different sensor technologies.
This technology can enable commercial truck drivers to respond to potential risks and improve the driver’s awareness of surrounding vehicles and situations. A good way to improve accident avoidance is through such a system capable of detecting objects around the vehicle and detecting accident risk before it occurs (through improved situational awareness) and warning the driver.
This project investigated a system that combined several different low-cost sensors with an integration algorithm to achieve more information than the sum of the parts. This system was designed to balance weaknesses of one type of sensor with the strengths of others. The investigators worked with an over-the-road class 8 trucking company to test and evaluate the system.
The results obtained show the ability of this approach to further enhance the object detection and discrimination capabilities of an ultrasonic-magnetic sensor fusion system. The project has shown that the sensor system is effective for functions such as blind spot detection and vehicle classification systems. This project is completed.
