Experience various Japanese car anti-collision safety technologies

Every year in Japan, there are as many as 7,000 accidents caused by drivers accidentally stepping on the pedal, resulting in 10,000 deaths and injuries. In response to this situation, Nissan R&D personnel have developed the "Inadvertent Pedal Acceleration Suppression System."

Automotive safety technology

Prevent accidental accelerator pedaling to avoid high-speed rear-end collision

Have you seen such news? A novice driver accidentally stepped on the accelerator while driving in a parking lot, and with a bang, the car crashed. On the highway, a car broke down, and the car behind it made an emergency evasive move and escaped, but the third car was not so lucky, and the driver had no time to react and directly rear-ended it. Today, traffic accidents have become the 10th leading cause of death in the world. An average of 1.2 million people die in traffic accidents each year, of which more than 90% of deaths occur in emerging countries where the number of motor vehicles has increased dramatically. Faced with such a reality, Nissan has taken "zero accidents" as its slogan, striving to achieve the goal of zero deaths and zero serious injuries in traffic accidents and working hard for it. On October 17, the 2011 Nissan Advanced Technology Briefing was held in Yokohama, Japan. The reporter saw a number of automotive safety technologies that have been used or will be used. Can the use of these technologies make cars more "smart" and better protect people? The reporter experienced it himself.

Three advanced safety systems let cars protect people

Nissan's advanced technology briefing was previously held in the summer, but this year it was moved to the fall due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. For the first time, more than 70 Chinese media were invited to the Oppama plant in Japan to experience the latest automotive safety and electric vehicle technologies.

"Car Guardian" is Nissan's safety concept. At this year's technical seminar, Nissan Motor Company recently released the latest safety technology based on the concept of "safety barrier", which aims to reduce casualties caused by traffic accidents. This safety technology can better help drivers pay attention to pedestrians, other vehicles, roads and obstacles around the vehicle through the improvement of on-board camera signal processing technology. At the same time, the accidental pedal acceleration suppression system and the multi-sensing system with rearview camera help drivers take necessary evasive actions before an accident occurs. In addition, the forward collision warning system uses millimeter-wave radar to monitor the deceleration movement of the first two vehicles, that is, if the first two vehicles suddenly brake, the system can serve as a warning to the driver.

It is worth mentioning that although some safety technologies will be first used in high-end models due to cost reasons, Nissan's R&D personnel said that these advanced technologies will also be gradually applied to mid- and low-end models.

A blessing for novice drivers: the "acceleration suppression system for accidental pedal pressing"

Under the guidance of technicians, reporters experienced these three systems.

The first one is the "acceleration suppression system for accidental pedal pressing". As a rookie driver, the reporter should be the best experiencer of this project. The technician first asked the reporter to step on the brake, and then he said: "Okay, now step on the accelerator hard, step on it to the bottom!" Facing the thick wall less than one meter in front of the car, the reporter asked: "Should I step on the accelerator to the bottom?" He said firmly: "Yes! Step on it to the bottom!" Well, I stepped on it hard, and hey, the car just moved forward a little bit and stopped!

It turns out that after a vehicle with the system installed enters the site, it drives at a low speed. After several cameras installed outside the vehicle detect the parking lot lines on the ground, the system determines that the vehicle is parking instead of driving on the road. At this time, if the driver accidentally steps on the accelerator, the vehicle will not rush forward, but will slow down, which proves that the system has intervened. The technician further explained: "Generally, in this case, the driver will become nervous and think that he is stepping on the brakes, so he will step on them again. In this case, the system will take further measures to automatically help you stop the vehicle."

Comments: If you think, like the reporter, that this system is only for novice drivers, female drivers and older drivers, you are wrong. This system can also detect obstacles through the sonar system. When the vehicle is likely to contact or collide with a nearby obstacle, the system automatically brakes to avoid or mitigate the collision. With this system, you will no longer see news like a car backing up into a telephone pole when reversing. It is understood that Nissan plans to use this technology in mass-produced models within two years.

Multiple "eyes" when driving at high speeds - "Forward Collision Warning System"

The second system the reporter experienced was the "Forward Collision Warning System".

Three cars were driving on the road, and the reporter was in the third car. Since the second car was a "big guy", the reporter could not see the first car. Suddenly, the alarm sounded in the car, and the seat belt on my body was tightened quickly. I was wondering what happened, and then I saw the second car suddenly change lanes, and the rear of the first car was not far ahead. "Be careful!" Before I could say this, the driver who received the alarm in advance was prepared and stepped on the brakes to stop the car steadily.

According to the technicians, the principle of the "Forward Collision Warning System" is to use the sensor at the front of the vehicle to analyze the relative speed and distance between the two vehicles in front, so as to avoid consecutive rear-end collisions caused by the deceleration of the two vehicles in front. When the system determines that it is necessary to decelerate, it will send a buzzer and warning signal to the driver, and tighten the seat belt.

Comment: There is a chance to avoid serious highway rear-end collisions!

360-degree driving – “Multi-sensing system with rear-view camera”

It is said that the human field of vision is 180 degrees horizontally, so no matter how careful you are, there will always be some unexpected situations. In order to allow drivers to drive safely in all directions, Nissan has developed multiple safety systems, the latest of which is the third system experienced by reporters - "Multi-sensing system with rearview camera". It combines three functions: blind spot warning, lane departure warning, and moving object detection. Nissan plans to apply it to new models starting in 2012 and then promote it globally.

When the vehicle is driving on the road, if the driver wants to change lanes, but he does not see that there is a vehicle moving quickly in the lane next to him and it is not suitable for lane change, the system will emit a buzzer and the indicator light on the front pillar will flash to remind the driver "Dude, there is a car behind, be careful!"

The principle of lane departure warning is that the rear-view camera will detect the white lane lines on the road. If the driver unintentionally deviates from the existing lane without turning on the turn signal, the system will be activated and an alarm will be issued.

The main advantage of moving object detection is that the image processing capability of the rear camera is improved. From the screen, you can clearly see the situation in all directions of the front, back, left, right and roof of the car. If a moving object is detected, such as a pedestrian who suddenly rushes out, effective countermeasures can be taken.

Comment: If this system is installed, the incident with Yueyue in Foshan might have been avoided. However, no matter how much the automobile technology advances and how smart it becomes, it still depends on the self-discipline and self-discipline of every road user to achieve real traffic safety.