Wabco claims it has successfully demonstrated the prototype of a “breakthrough” collision avoidance technology for commercial vehicles at an event at the test track of RWTH Aachen University in Aldenhoven, Germany. Jointly developed by Wabco and ZF, the Evasive Maneuver Assist (EMA) combines Wabco’s braking, stability and vehicle dynamics control systems on trucks and trailers with ZF’s active steering technology to create a system that the parties say marks a critical step toward enabling autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle industry.
EMA leverages the capabilities of Wabco’s OnGuardACTIVE radar-only collision mitigation system, which uses radar sensor to identify moving or stationary vehicles ahead and alert the driver of impending rear-end collisions via visual, audio and haptic signals. Should the driver determine that the system cannot avoid a rear-end collision by driver-initiated or autonomous braking alone, EMA engages to help the driver to safely steer around an obstructing vehicle and to bring truck and trailer to a complete and safe stop. In such situations, this collision avoidance function connects Wabco’s electronic braking system (EBS), advanced emergency braking system (AEBS), electronic stability control (ESC) and vehicle dynamics control systems to ZF’s electrohydraulic ReAX power steering system.
EMA controls both the longitudinal and lateral movements of heavy-duty trucks and trailers in challenging driving situations at high-speed, thereby helping to avoid rear-end collisions. Critical driving situations may include traffic jams that appear suddenly after curves or when driving on wet, low-friction road surfaces.
