Advanced Driver Assistance Systems & Your Windshield
The vast majority of industry authorities agree that advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are the way of the future. These systems simply make vehicles safer and more efficient. So until the auto and high-tech industries perfect the driverless car, more and more vehicles are bound to come equipped with ADAS features. And more and more of these features will have both positive and negative impacts on your windshield.
The ADAS of Today
You’ve undoubtedly seen ADAS features already in the newer models of your favorite cars, trucks, and SUVs. Often touted as special options, these features include mechanical blind spot monitoring, automatic collision avoidance, and computer-guided parking. In general, ADAS technology falls into two distinct categories.
The first category consists of devices and systems that enhance the driver’s visual capabilities and overall awareness. Think bird’s eye displays, night vision systems, GPS navigation systems, and drowsiness alerts.
The second category consists of devices and systems that take partial or full automatic control of driving processes such as breaking, steering, parking, and driving at particular speeds. These ADAS features can be seen as stepping-stones on the journey to a fully driverless commercial vehicle.
The ADAS of Tomorrow
Today, many of the cameras and monitors associated with the ADAS-enabled vehicle are placed near the windshield (either mounted outside on the hood or installed inside above or on the dashboard.) In the future, however, they will likely be projected directly onto or placed directly within the windshield itself.
A team of researchers at the Statistical Visual Computing Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, has created a detection algorithm that can recognize pedestrians on the street with levels of accuracy and rates of speed that rival those of a human driver. While this technology has yet to be incorporated into a commercial vehicle, the day when your car will automatically highlight pedestrians as they appear through your windshield is certainly not as far off as you might think. After all, the ability to spot pedestrians from a distance can make the difference between an easy brake and an unfortunate accident.
The Effects of ADAS on Windshield Replacement and Repair
Anyone who has had to repair or replace a windshield in the past is bound to have questions about what to expect when the windshield of his or her ADAS-enabled vehicle is damaged or blemished.
Modern vehicles currently come equipped with ADAS features that can complicate windshield repair and replacement in several ways. If a windshield chip or crack is located in the vicinity of an internal camera that points outward to the road, it may require additional intervention on the part of a trained windshield repair specialist.
Because windshield replacement jobs often require technicians to unplug these cameras (and because disrupting the system in this way often requires a costly professional recalibration), owners of ADAS-enabled vehicles may want to consider a windshield repair job first and foremost. They may also want maintain their windshields with extra care to avoid damage in the first place.
As the pace of technological advancement increases, the need to seek the services of automotive service professionals with specialized ADAS training will become more and more essential. Failure to recalibrate all ADAS features after major repairs such as those to a windshield will result in accidents due to inaccurate hazard detection and warning. For maximum effectiveness and safety, smart owners of ADAS-enabled vehicles should seek out the services of a windshield repair technician/company with the advanced equipment and technical experience to deal with their specific automotive makes and models.
For more information about ADAS features and the windshield standards for ADAS-enabled vehicles, interested parties can contact a qualified windshield repair professional at Anthony Volk Glass in West Chester, Pennsylvania by calling (610) 436-9727 or request an appointment online!. Our team has been serving the regional community for more than two decades and offers services that stay abreast of the very latest advances in automotive technology.
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