Active Safety in action: Forward Collision Warning
Forward Collision Warning (FCW) utilizes a sensor, usually radar or a camera, to detect objects, including vehicles on the road, and alerts drivers when there is imminent danger of a collision. By predicting collision and alerting drivers beforehand, the safety feature could potentially have a great impact on reducing accidents, since, according to a report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report in 2001, such systems could theoretically eliminate 37–74 percent of rear-end collisions.5
The predictive capacity of active safety is a result of the use of advanced sensors, including radar, sonar radar, LIDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), mono-camera and stereo-camera systems. These sensors come in many forms as they need to detect various circumstances. Active safety can automate necessary responses to danger by capturing information via these sensors, then routing them through an electronic control unit (ECU) to assess the situation. The system will deliver control signals to actuators such as brakes, steering systems, airbags, and seatbelts (integration with passive safety) to commit the actions required to avoid a collision.