Joyson and GM23 Sep 2019 22:45
Keeping Your Eyes on the Road
Anne Fischer
Written by Anne Fischer 23 September 2019
Cadillac expands Super Cruise
We’ve all heard the news reports of drivers of autonomous vehicles falling asleep at the wheel. And while that may be the extreme, it certainly would be human nature to gaze out the window as the car navigates its own way down the highway. But until cars are fully autonomous, a driver must be alert and ready to take control at any time. While many solutions are available today that are designed to decrease distracted driving, light-enabled solutions are rapidly advancing and making a real difference in the way semi-autonomous automobiles are driven.
One example of such advanced technology is a distracted driver monitoring system, developed by Joyson Safety Systems with Osram Opto Semiconductors. The “Super Cruise” system is in the Cadillac CT6, beginning with 2018 models, providing level 2-3 autonomous driving. Osram considers Super Cruise the industry’s first true hands-free driving technology for the highway. The way it works is that Osram’s infrared (IR) LED components, which are embedded in Joyson Safety Systems’ steering wheel lightbar, illuminate the driver’s face enabling the system to monitor driver attentiveness.
steering wheel
Then visible, multi-color LEDs, which are also embedded in the steering wheel, visually warn the driver of the vehicle’s autonomous status.sensor
When Super Cruise is enabled Osram’s Oslon Black SFH 4715S illuminates the driver’s face using invisible light. Joyson Safety Systems’ infrared camera, mounted on the steering column shroud, captures the scene and passes the data to the Driver Monitoring ECU that then assesses the driver, detects the head and eyes and monitors where the driver is looking
The IR light projected toward the face is at 940 nm, which the eye cannot see (it only starts to see red at 860 nm).
Bringing the car to a stop
If the driver looks away for too long, the Super Cruise system sends a series of alerts for the driver to resume focus on the road. If a driver becomes completely unresponsive, the Cadillac CT6 uses the full capability of onboard driver assistance technologies to bring the car to a controlled stop.
Of course, the distracted driver system only works when it’s on, and it uses Osram’s RGB Multiled embedded in the lightbar to indicate when the system is operating and what function it is performing. The LEDs turn green when the Super Cruise system is engaged; blue when the system is engaged but the driver is still holding the steering wheel; and red when the system needs the driver to re-engage control and or attentiveness.
Sign In
Follow the stocks
