The vehicle stopped without warning. Is this safety assistance system unsafe? It's not just Tesla that's in trouble

Nowadays, the research and development of automobiles pay more and more attention to active safety configuration and autonomous driving technology. Whether it is independent or joint venture, it is widely used and is also a trend in automobile driving. AEB (active braking function) has also been quite popular in recent years. In the European and American markets, special regulations have even been issued to force new cars to be equipped with it as standard. In the domestic market, starting in 2018, AEB has also been included in the rating procedures of the "C-NCAP Management Rules (2018 Edition)", accounting for 11% of the total score, which also means that new vehicles that want to obtain a rating of five stars or above must be equipped with AEB function.

Studies have shown that vehicles equipped with AEB can reduce the accident rate by 27%, of which the reduction rate of rear-end collisions is 38%. It can also significantly reduce casualties caused by accidents. From the data, the use of this function is a safety auxiliary function worthy of recognition for both drivers and car companies. However, with the popularization of AEB, traffic accidents and disadvantages caused by false triggering of AEB have gradually emerged. Whether AEB is a double-edged sword is also worth studying!

Is AEB technology mature?

In short, AEB technology is like a coach sitting in your passenger seat, helping you to brake in an emergency. And this coach can always be alert and will not get tired or distracted like a human. But it is worth mentioning that the AEB of most models on the market today is only effective when the speed is below 80km/h, and some will only intervene when the speed is below 50km/h, which also limits the application scenarios of AEB.

At present, there are four types of AEB technologies. The first is the most basic technical solution that relies on 77GHz millimeter-wave radar; the second is the vision solution, most of which can only effectively identify pedestrians or vehicles; the third is vision (including single-eye, binocular and multi-eye) + millimeter-wave radar, which can effectively identify pedestrians and vehicles and some obstacles, but is easy to trigger and cause frequent emergency stops; the fourth is a multi-sensor fusion solution, including short-range 24GHz millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic radar and surround view camera.

Although many vehicles are equipped with advanced AEB systems, the various AEB supporting sensors currently available cannot guarantee that there will be no related problems. Therefore, for safety reasons, engineers can only choose to let AEB intervene as slowly as possible. At present, AEB lacks comprehensive judgment capabilities and is not user-friendly, so some false triggering problems are inevitable.

How big is the risk of AEB false triggering?

Some netizens expressed that they really love and hate the AEB system. Once, when passing through an entrance with ground piles, they slowed down and passed carefully, but the collision warning system was triggered due to the proximity of the ground piles, causing an emergency brake. Although they did not brake to a stop directly, it still scared the car owner. In the same situation, when passing a corner, they also encountered ground piles. They slowed down and drove slowly, but they braked to a stop suddenly. They did not move even when they stepped on the gas. The car owner thought he had hit something, and after being scared, he decided to turn off the collision warning system.

Coincidentally, some netizens reported that their Tesla Model 3 may mistake the isolation belt for an obstacle when driving on a narrow auxiliary road, and braked to a stop without any warning, which was really thrilling. Some netizens even revealed that the Tesla Model 3 AEB mis-triggering is not an isolated case. There was a car owner who was driving at high speed and the rear vehicle was rear-ended due to AEB emergency braking, causing a serious traffic accident. As a car that boasts intelligence, such a thing happened to Tesla, which is also shocking.

In fact, the safety issue of AEB is not unique to a certain model of car, but a common problem in the industry.

Industry insider analysis

In response to the problems encountered during the use of AEB, some industry insiders believe that subsequent algorithm iterations can be carried out according to the triggering scenarios, and special processing can be performed on bends or other narrow scenarios to make the triggering braking conditions more stringent and reduce the false triggering rate; the AEB low-speed perception distance can be limited, and when the vehicle speed is lower than a certain value, it will not be triggered or the trigger value will be higher, thereby improving the user experience; or the steering angle sensor and vehicle dynamics can be combined to predict the vehicle's driving trajectory to prevent false triggering, but comprehensive perception is still difficult to achieve at present.

Conclusion:

As a consumer, the use of advanced technology will certainly bring many conveniences and benefits, but as a means of transportation on the road, every move may threaten the life and safety of oneself and others. It is necessary to remind you not to blindly pursue new technologies and technologies. It is necessary to understand the pros and cons and usage before using them. For many advanced car safety devices, the driver's self-concentration and safe driving are the best!