Volkswagen Launches Microwave-Based ACC in Europe
IVsource.net
26 August 2002

Volkswagen has joined the ranks of vehicle manufacturers offering Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) in Europe.  Others already in the game at this time include BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, and Renault.

Volkswagen has joined the ranks of vehicle manufacturers offering Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) in Europe.  Others already in the game at this time include BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, and Renault.

ACC is a system that provides drivers with relief from the tedium of conventional cruise control, which can be rendered virtually useless in moderate-to-dense traffic.  ACC uses ranging sensors (either radar or lidar) to monitor the lane ahead of the vehicle.  The speed set by the driver is maintained unless a slower moving vehicle is detected ahead, in which case the car slows to match that speed, at a driver-defined spacing.  When the driver changes lanes or the way ahead becomes clear again, the vehicle automatically accelerates to the set speed.

ACC is rapidly becoming famous as a stress-reliever on the road.  This writer recently drove an ACC system for three hours on a heavily-used California freeway and only needed to touch the foot pedals a few times.  In those infrequent cases when a vehicle ahead brakes severely, ACC systems warn the driver to intervene with a little help on the brakes.  The rest of the drive, for all intents, could have been completely “foot-free.”

VW is launching ACC on four luxury and mid-range vehicles in Europe, starting with the new D-Class car called Phaeton.

The techniques used in VW's system -- monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology -- can detect vehicles at a range of 150 m (490 ft) ahead.  VW has adopted a system supplied by TRW and Thales, who reportedly invested 80M Euro in developing the system.  TRW notes that the MMIC technology will lower prices for microwave-based ACC, a major hurdle which has driven other OEMs to go with lidar systems.  However, microwave systems have proven more robust in inclement weather than has lidar.

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