Safety focus leads to sensor increase
22 October 2008An increasing focus by car manufacturers across the world on safety has lead to a significant rise in the use of sensor technologies on vehicles, particularly in Europe, Japan and the United States.
Sensor technologies are not a new development – many cars currently on the market are now fitted with cruise control and parking sensors. However, advances in the past year have seen car manufacturers start to introduce active safety systems, which allow the vehicle to guide the driver; for example using active cruise control to automatically modify speed if a car gets too close to another vehicle.
There have been significant recent developments in Radar (radio detection and ranging), Lidar (light detection and ranging) and CMOS camera technologies, particularly for lane departure warning systems. In the latter, infra-red laser beams in conjunction with a camera monitor road and lane depth and send a warning signal to the driver if the vehicle drifts across a lane.
All of these developments are having an impact on glazing manufacturers. For the sensors to be most effective, the best positioning is at the upper middle of the windshield. This has an impact on the shaping of the glass, as well as on other technologies that may be used, such as antennas and coatings, and provides a new challenge for companies such as Pilkington Automotive.
For example, a change in the shape or optical properties of the glass can affect the performance of the sensor. Weather conditions are also a consideration, particularly if the windshield is covered in ice. Pilkington Automotive has developed localized heated areas at the top of the windshield to ensure the effectiveness of the sensor is not compromised.
Although this level of sensor technology is currently only used on higher-end vehicles, there has been an increase in global demand over the past 12 months, which indicates this technology will become more widespread over the next two to three years.