By Keith Beveridge
If you are involved in the repair of windshields, you may not think Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) will have a big impact on your business, but that is not necessarily the case. There is definitely a lot of information to monitor.
First, Driver Assistance Systems (DAS) have been around for more than 40 years. Historically, DAS uses only internal data to operate. What differentiates ADAS from DAS is that ADAS uses both internal and external data. These data sources include cameras and sensors using optical, radar, LIDAR and computer processing. ADAS systems are becoming more complex every year.
An article written by Hearst Autos Research for Car and Driver magazine says Advanced Driver Assistance Systems “are designed to increase the safety of driving a vehicle” and “use a human-machine interface to improve the driver’s ability to react to dangers on the road.” Some ADAS systems provide information or warnings only while other systems are semi- or fully-automated. Research in the 1990’s and 2000’s by Karel Brookhuis (et.
al.) from the University of Groningen found that almost 90% of traffic accidents are attributed to human failure yet most drivers consider themselves better than average when it comes to safety. ADAS provides real-time tools that prioritize driver or automated vehicle actions to significantly lower traffic accidents. Accident prevention reduces economic loss, injury and potentially death.
ADAS comes in many different forms and systems and offer various levels of passive safety assistance (driver alerts or notifications) or automated safety assistance (full or partial vehicle control). ADAS Technology has exploded in the past several years. AAA noted in an article from 2019 that 92.7% of all new models as of May 2018 had at least one ADAS option. We also know that many vehicle manufacturers have begun to install multiple ADAS packages in some of their most popular models in response to the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) requiring these features to get a top crash rating. They also noted that different vehicle manufacturers may call their particular system a unique name.
In an attempt to better define ADAS Terms, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) along with J.D. Power, Consumer Reports, AAA and the National Safety Council agreed to a framework that SAE will utilize to update the SAE J-3016 standard.
Tesla’s AutoPilot and Cadillac’s Super Cruise are somewhere on the boundary between Level 2 and Level 3 (depending who you ask). Both companies claim to be able to drive a vehicle equipped with these systems autonomously but under very specific circumstances. However, both systems require continuous attention of the driver. Cadillac currently has a camera on the steering wheel that monitors the attention of the driver. If the driver’s attention is not focused on monitoring the environment, the system will warn the driver and when safe may ultimately disengage.
Many of the ADAS systems use cameras located near the top of the windshield typically on the headliner or as part of the mirror assembly. The camera sees through the windshield in order to operate.
Many vehicle manufacturers have issued Original Equipment (OE) Position Statements on ADAS and windshield replacement (see related article, page 16). The rationale for the position statements centers around the technical requirement about how the auto glass performs in regard to fit, optical clarity, technical performance and integration with ADAS systems and require the use of genuine OEM glass purchased from the applicable dealer. In addition, all of these manufacturers indicate that the vehicle ADAS systems should be calibrated after having a new windshield installed.
Based upon a recent review of the Internet, at least one vehicle manufacturer (Subaru) issued a technical bulletin specifically on windshield repair. While supportive of windshield repair, Subaru has identified specific zones on the windshield where windshield repair should not be conducted.
The Repair of Laminated Glass Standard or ROLAGS™ defines: 1) what is a repairable damage; 2) the process of windshield repair; and 3) the performance criteria for repaired laminated glass. Unfortunately, it does not address the issue of windshield repair and ADAS systems. Please see https://nwrassn.org/documents/ANSI+NWRA+ROLAGS+001-2014.pdf for details of the most current standard. ROLAGS was written in 2014 prior to most ADAS systems that utilize a camera or other system through the windshield to operate were in widespread use. (ROLAGS is currently being updated. See page 4 for more information on this topic.)
Keith Beveridge operates Beveridge Consulting which specializes in strategy development, marketing and operational review. He is an authority on windshield repair and customer experience. He is a former member of the boards of directors of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) and the National Windshield Repair Association (now NWRD) and a former chairperson of the Repair of Laminated Auto Glass Standard (ROLAGS) Committee. He is a former senior vice president of Novus.
To view the laid-in version of this article in our digital edition, CLICK HERE.
