WABCO Holdings, a global supplier of technologies that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, demonstrated today the prototype of a new collision avoidance technology for commercial vehicles. Jointly developed by WABCO and ZF, the Evasive Maneuver Assist combines WABCO’s braking, stability and vehicle dynamics control systems on trucks and trailers with ZF’s top active steering technology, an industry first. The Evasive Maneuver Assist marks yet another critical step toward enabling autonomous driving in the commercial vehicle industry.
The Evasive Maneuver Assist leverages the capabilities of WABCO’s industry-leading OnGuardACTIVE, its most advanced, radar-only collision mitigation system. A radar sensor identifies moving or stationary vehicles ahead and alerts the driver via visual, audio and haptic signals of impending rear-end collisions. Should the driver determine that the system cannot avoid a rear-end collision by driver-initiated or autonomous braking alone, the Evasive Maneuver Assist 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 new collision avoidance function is connecting WABCO’s proven electronic braking system, advanced emergency braking system, electronic stability control and vehicle dynamics control systems to ZF’s electrohydraulic ReAX power steering system.
Based on the core competencies of WABCO and ZF systems, the Evasive Maneuver Assist controls both the longitudinal and lateral movements of heavy-duty trucks and trailers in challenging driving situations at high speeds, 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.
“Today’s Evasive Maneuver Assist prototype demonstration is a powerful example of WABCO’s and ZF’s leadership in developing advanced safety technologies for commercial vehicles,” said Jacques Esculier, chairman and CEO, WABCO. “Evasive Maneuver Assist connects WABCO’s braking and stability control systems with ZF’s active steering solution for the first time and marks an important step toward realizing the transportation industry’s vision of autonomous driving.”
“I’m excited that ZF and WABCO joined forces to combine their world-class steering and braking technologies to create a new collision avoidance functionality for commercial vehicles,” said Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO, ZF Friedrichshafen AG. “Evasive Maneuver Assist is yet another industry leading innovation that has the potential to significantly advance commercial vehicle and road safety worldwide.”
WABCO and ZF demonstrated Evasive Maneuver Assist for the very first time June 29, 2016, at the test track of RWTH Aachen University in Aldenhoven, Germany.
