ADAS Fails To See Concrete Block On the Road: Here Is The Result (Video)
ADAS ( Advanced Driver Assistance System) is becoming increasingly common on vehicles sold in India. These features, once exclusive to high-end and premium cars, are now offered even on mass market models. Data reveals that their adoption has also increased in recent years. Unfortunately, a lot of people now misuse ADAS features. Many rely completely on these and often end up in accidents or crashes. A video of such an incident has now surfaced online. It shows an MG Windsor Pro that crashed into a concrete block after its Automatic Emergency Braking system allegedly failed to avoid the crash. This has raised fresh concerns around public ignorance of the actual capabilities and limitations of ADAS features, and their ‘blind trust’ in these.
The exact location where this accident occurred remains unclear. The video gives us a closer look at the Windsor Pro that was involved in this crash. Its front right tyre and front fender seem to have taken severe damage. The host explains that the vehicle was being driven with its Adaptive Cruise Control engaged at the time of the crash.
The video then shows a large concrete block situated randomly on the road. The Windsor Pro’s Autonomous Emergency Braking system, the host says, failed to detect it or to stop before making contact. The EV crashed right into the block.
Frankly, we can’t blame the ADAS suite here! Unlike what the video claims, the system was functioning perfectly. The person driving the car failed to understand the limits and capabilities of the ADAS suite.
Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) has difficult detecting low, irregular shaped objects. This is a well known limitation of the technology that one needs to be aware of.
Manufacturers continue to introduce ADAS suites on more models and update them with more advanced features. But, what about the end-users? Are they being educated about these and the extent to which they can stay functional? Are they being trained to use them right?
People in many case, have just superficial knowledge of these features and the way they function.
They would, for example, know what Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) does, how it maintains a set speed, and how it automatically slows down if a vehicle is detected in front of the ADAS-enabled car.
Not many would, however, know that this system may get impaired/ not support slippery, sandy patches or bumpy roads!
Before putting the ADAS features to good use, it is important for the owner to learn the extent to which it can be used safely and the possible scenarios that would potentially make it vulnerable.
The vehicle’s user manual usually has clear information about all these. It should also be mentioned here that the list of ADAS features and their nature can vary slightly between makes and models.
The Windsor Pro comes with 12 Level 2 ADAS features. These warn the driver on three different levels- audio, visual, and haptic. Being a level 2 suite, it can control acceleration, braking, and even steering inputs. Driver Assist functions like Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), Adaptive Cruise Control, Bend Cruise Assistance, Lane Functions, Forward Collision warning, Automatic Emergency Braking, Intelligent Hydraulic Braking Assistance, and Intelligent Headlamp Control are on offer.
Short answer: No! The Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) system uses camera units, lidars, radar, and sensors to detect objects in front of the vehicle, mitigate potential collisions, and hard-brake safely if the driver doesn’t react promptly. The intention is to avoid the collision completely or to minimise the impact caused. The catch here is that this system will only detect a certain type of object (s)- in other words, only the objects that it ‘knows’.
ADAS systems on most cars today can detect vehicles and pedestrians. Mahindra took things a notch higher by giving the BE6 and XEV9e the ability to sense ‘jaywalking cattle’! The manual of each vehicle mentions what it can detect and what it can’t.
The Windsor Pro’s user guide clearly says that the functioning of the Forward Collision System (which includes AEB) may be impaired or ineffective if ‘objects such as special-shaped ground obstacles ( roadblocks, isolation piles, isolation strips, large stones, other scattered objects etc.) are detected in front of the vehicle.’
In this case, at least, it wasn’t the car at fault, but the driver’s limited knowledge and ‘blind trust’ in the electronics. His inability to take control of the vehicle manually made things worse...