Radar speed control
TRW Automotive announced the first launch for its revolutionary radar enabled Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system on a Volkswagen Group platform that will be unveiled to
the public this month. TRW has been selected to deliver ACC on four luxury and mid-range platforms from the Volkswagen Group.
TRW's ACC system is the first on the market to feature MMIC long-range radar sensing technology which tracks information up to 150 metres ahead in all weather and road conditions. The breakthrough radar is the result of an Euro 80 million investment project from Autocruise, a joint venture between TRW and the French defence and aerospace company, Thales.
The information from the radar is analysed by electronics contained in the unit. The system identifies the vehicle nearest to the driver in their lane
and tracks it. If that vehicle is travelling slower than the selected cruise speed, the ACC system sends a signal to the engine and braking system to
decelerate until there is an appropriate following distance. The system maintains this following distance while the vehicle travels below the selected
cruise speed. When the road ahead clears, or the driver overtakes, the ACC system sends a signal to the engine management system to accelerate the
vehicle to the driver's selected speed.
The company's ACC system uses fully MMIC (Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit) based radar sensing technology to detect other vehicles on the road
ahead. The core of the radar sensing is a high frequency (77Ghz) TRM (Transmit Receive Module) incorporating the MMIC chips, developed initially
for defence and telecommunications use. The Autocruise radar offers excellent performance and lower cost for volume production and is at least two years
ahead of its competition.
Vehicle-specific characteristics, such as acceleration and deceleration rates, are determined by software and can, therefore, allow for feature
differentiation across various vehicle platforms based on common hardware.
March.2002
TRW Automotive
