Volvo Trucks Makes Bendix Next-Generation Driver Assistance System Available On VNL And VNM Series Models
ELYRIA, OH… Working with Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC, Volvo Trucks North America has added Volvo Active Driver Assist – a comprehensive driver assistance system – as a factory-installed option on its VNL and VNM series models. Volvo launched Volvo Active Driver Assist at the American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas.
Utilizing Bendix’s flagship collision mitigation technology, Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™, Volvo Active Driver Assist integrates radar, camera, and the vehicle’s brake system into a comprehensive driver assistance system delivering driver alerts and interventions to help them mitigate rear-end collisions, rollovers, and loss-of-control situations.
“The Volvo Trucks name has long been synonymous with safety, and Bendix is proud to share and support Volvo’s commitment to equipping fleets and drivers with the most advanced safety systems available today,” said Scott Burkhart, Bendix vice president – sales, marketing, and business development. “We’ve worked side-by-side with Volvo for years to develop and improve active safety technologies, and Volvo Active Driver Assist represents yet another step forward in our combined efforts to make North America’s trucks and highways safer for everyone traveling them.”
Volvo Active Driver Assist offers alert prioritization, enhanced collision mitigation, stationary vehicle braking, and an integrated lane departure warning system with data capture capability. Unlike radar-only systems, Volvo Active Driver Assist gathers input through radar, video, and the vehicle’s brakes – working together – to create a highly detailed and accurate data picture using deep, multisystem integration. The system’s camera is powered by the Mobileye System-on-Chip EyeQ processor with state-of-the-art vision algorithms.
The combination of these technologies, along with powerful next-generation computing, creates a system that typically assesses situations faster and reacts earlier, while also significantly reducing false alerts and false interventions.
By combining and cross-checking information from multiple sources to reach new levels of safety performance and potential, Volvo Active Driver Assist can alert a driver and decrease the vehicle’s speed up to twice as much as previous systems, helping mitigate potential collisions or lessen their severity. And because it is built on the Volvo Enhanced Stability Technology by Bendix® full-stability system, Volvo Active Driver Assist also helps drivers avoid additional crash situations, including rollovers and loss-of-control.
Volvo Active Driver Assist’s capabilities, Burkhart pointed out, are the result of the software and sensors “talking” together, which enables constant cross-checking of information – multiple times per second. The result is a more robust system that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Unique to the application of Bendix® Wingman® Fusion™ technology to Volvo Trucks models is the ability to deliver audible and visual alerts through the Volvo Driver Information Display located on the dash.
“We are pleased to offer our customers a next-generation safety technology that will help mitigate collisions on the roadway,” said Wade Long, Volvo Trucks product marketing manager. “Volvo Active Driver Assist will enhance our current offerings by combining radar with video for improved object detection. Volvo is the first OEM to integrate the system warnings into the Driver Information Display.”
Volvo has offered the Volvo Enhanced Cruise with Active Braking by Bendix® collision mitigation technology since 2009.
Driver assistance and other Bendix safety technologies are intended to complement safe driving practices, and not to encourage or enable aggressive driving. Highway safety remains dependent upon skilled, alert drivers practicing safe driving techniques, as well as comprehensive, proactive training programs. Responsibility for the safe operation of a driver assistance system-equipped vehicle is always in the hands of the driver.
Through its ever-expanding portfolio of technology, Bendix delivers on safety, along with other areas critical to fleet and owner-operator success. By focusing on equipment reliability, performance and efficiency, providing lower cost of vehicle ownership, and offering unparalleled post-sales support, Bendix strives to encourage investment in advanced systems that improve roadway safety for passengers and drivers across North America.
For more information about Bendix safety systems, call Bendix at 1-800-AIR-BRAKE or visit www.safertrucks.com/solutions.