Challenges in Low-speed Collision Avoidance

Conference contribution, 2010

Rear-end collisions account for a substantial amount of all traffic accidents. The vast majority of rear-end collisions occur at speeds up to 30 km/h, mostly in city traffic. Volvo developed a system called City Safety that helps drivers to avoid these types of accidents. City Safety monitors the traffic in front with the help of a laser sensor that is built into the windscreen’s upper section. It can detect the rear-end of a vehicle in front of the City Safety equipped car. If the driver is about to drive into the vehicle in front and does not react in time, the car brakes itself. This study explains some of the challenges that were addressed during the development of City Safety, which are typical for low-speed collision avoidance.