Automotive

Honda's predictive cruise control aims to detect lane-changes ahead of time

Honda's predictive cruise control aims to detect lane-changes ahead of time
Honda says its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, which is set to debut in the 2015 European CR-V Executive model, can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch
Honda says its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, which is set to debut in the 2015 European CR-V Executive model, can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch
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can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch and adjust speed accordingly
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can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch and adjust speed accordingly
Honda says its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, which is set to debut in the 2015 European CR-V Executive model, can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch
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Honda says its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control, which is set to debut in the 2015 European CR-V Executive model, can predict cars cutting into your lane before they make the switch

The emergence of adaptive cruise control in recent years has certainly been a welcome development, and now Honda is promising to take things one step further. It has today unveiled its Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control (i-ACC), a technology it claims is capable of predicting the chances of a car cutting into your lane up to five seconds before it occurs.

i-ACC is the product of a research project undertaken by Honda that studied driver behavior across Europe. It says the system identifies which side of the road you are driving on, detects cars traveling in nearby lanes and which of them poses the greatest threat to the safety of your vehicle.

The system relies on a camera and radar to pick up neighboring vehicles, using an algorithm to assess the relations between those vehicles and calculate the chances of them cutting into your lane. In the event your fellow road user begins to dangerously wander across that white line, the i-ACC kicks in and adjusts your speed accordingly.

Honda says it is designed to react "very smoothly" so that the driver is not caught by surprise. This means a mild braking is applied initially and an icon lights up on the dashboard so the driver is kept in the loop. If needed, stronger braking then follows to adjust the vehicle's speed to keep a safe following distance.

"i-ACC is a significant breakthrough and a considerable further step towards a new generation of driver assistance systems that anticipate the behavior of other traffic participants," says Dr Schmuedderich, who led the i-ACC's development at Europe's Honda Research Institute.

Honda will debut its newer, smarter cruise control system later this year in the 2015 European CR-V Executive model.

Source: Honda

2 comments
2 comments
JweenyPwee
We used to have these contraptions called "turn signals" that allowed other drivers to anticipate and prepare for another driver's lane change.
Those were the days.
You had to lift your finger an entire inch from the wheel. But alas, it quickly overwhelmed most drivers' mental and physical ability.
Bill Bennett
@JweenyPwee, nicely put, sadly true. I was at an Audi BuMmerW track day, on the back twistys no passing allowed, slowed down for a BuMmerW driver, finally got to the passing area, the shidiot, helmet on was touching up her makeup on the effing track, yep looking in the mirror on the back side of the sunvisor.