Following ADAS into the Future
By Abby Bowman
Speculating on the future can feel like approaching a blind corner on a country road at dusk. Anything could be ahead, so the wisest course of action is to tap the brakes until you know your path is clear. But Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technology has evolved so quickly and completely that the road in front of it is practically the Autobahn, and the auto glass industry is along for the ride.
“Like it or not, all things ADAS are part of our industry now,” says Jacques Navant, a Launch Tech USA representative and the technical director of Don’s Mobile Glass in Modesto, California. Navant also serves as the president of the Auto Glass Safety Council (AGSC) and chairs its ADAS Committee. “There’s no chance of separation at this point.”
In the Rearview
Like many technologies, the need for calibration faced resistance at the beginning. Greg Peeters, CEO of Utah-based Car ADAS Solutions, says many drivers found the initial ADAS systems’ beeping or buzzing bothersome.
“There was a statistic that [over half of drivers] shut off their lane departure warning system,” Peeters says. “Because it wasn’t always right, and it was just annoying.”
He divides ADAS into three generations. The first generation consists of lane departure warning (LDW) systems that beep or buzz to alert drivers. Next came lane-keeping assist (LKA) functions.
“This was a reactionary system to keep you between the rails, so to speak,” Peeters says. “Now, we have lane-centering systems.”
Navant compares this progression to watching the development of cell phones over the past 20-plus years. “You spend top dollar for the latest and greatest cell phone, and then it might be obsolete a month later,” he says. “The most exciting and frustrating part is how fast everything moves.”
Safety First
Regardless of its generation, ADAS’ goal is safety, says Richard Zenteno, Autel’s national sales manager for ADAS. He says the technology’s primary goal is to help reduce the number and severity of accidents.
“That’s one of the things that we, as an industry, need to embrace,” he says. “The fact that this technology is helping our customers drive safely despite all the distractions we have on the road.”
Responsible driving requires attention to your surroundings, Zenteno says, and an ADAS warning or automatic correction helps compensate for human error.
One of these corrections is automatic emergency braking (AEB).
“There are such important statistics available that clearly demonstrate that a vehicle equipped with AEB greatly reduces accidents or diminishes them to the point of no injury,” Peeters says.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) agrees. In April 2024, the agency finalized a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) requiring all vehicle manufacturers to make AEB a standard feature in cars and light trucks starting in 2029. The NHTSA projects FMVSS 127 “will save at least 360 lives a year and prevent at least 24,000 injuries annually.”
FMVSS 127’s requirements include pedestrian AEB.
“There’s a lot of focus on emergency braking for pedestrians,” Peeters says. “There is a lot of emphasis on not killing pedestrians, whether bicycling, jogging, or walking.”
Smile for the Camera
ADAS technology continues to evolve to facilitate AEB. Zenteno says wider-angle front-facing cameras are becoming more common to avoid pedestrian collisions. These cameras are typically mounted on the vehicle’s windshield.
“The camera has the ability not only to detect the presence of an object, but it is also able to establish an outline of its form and categorize it,” he says. “Object classification becomes a very important part of the camera technology.”
There will likely be more cameras per vehicle in the future, given their importance.
“I’ve seen the prototype windshields,” Peeters says. “They have three or four cameras in them.”
A windshield-mounted camera is just one type of ADAS sensing technology, adds Zenteno.
“The number of sensors will just increase,” he says. “Whether it’s camera-based, radar-based, or laser-radar-based technology.”
LIDAR is a laser-based radar that detects an object’s presence, position, and velocity. It is already being used extensively. “In the future, I think we are going to see more of the LIDAR technology come into effect,” he says.
Navant thinks the glass itself could change alongside ADAS technology.
“We’re going to see manufacturers utilize that essentially dead space of the windshield and other glass,” he says. “We’ll see more and more features similar to heads-up displays … I think we’ll see a day where there are no more side mirrors, and everything is camera-based.”
The Human Element
Self-calibration may not be ahead for ADAS.
“It’s not the trend at all,” Peeters says. “It’s almost the reverse. [Newer sensors and cameras] are more particular about lighting and distractions than ever.”
No matter the level of complexity, Zenteno says ADAS calibrations will always require a person be present.
“There’s always going to be the need for human interaction because, from a legal standpoint, [you always need someone to] command the calibration in the sensor, whether it is camera or radar,” he says.
Zenteno adds that when a camera is moved or the windshield is replaced, a person will always need to “tell” the camera how to orient itself again.
Education on Innovation
With this need for human involvement, auto glass shops and technicians will likely find themselves increasingly immersed in ADAS technology.
Zenteno says the industry needs to embrace it.
“It’s very black-and-white; it’s not a suggestion,” he says. “It’s the [proper] repair procedure within the manufacturer’s information systems.”
Not only is it necessary, but Zenteno says providing ADAS calibration can be a profit center for auto glass businesses.
“ADAS as a technology has potential … not only for the safety of our customers but also to increase revenue and profitability for business,” he says. “It’s practically a new way of making money.”
Zenteno knows there is some pushback against the concept within the auto glass industry. “A lot of the mistrust in the industry regarding ADAS and calibrations is merely a lack of understanding of the technology and a lack of information regarding proper repair procedures,” he says.
Navant has an educational resource in mind for ADAS and calibrations.
“There’s a lot of the great unknown out there,” says Navant. “You can hear a thousand different opinions, and probably one or two bits of it might be fact. So AGSC’s goal is to help everybody understand and, most importantly, be as educated as possible with all things ADAS.”
As one step toward this goal, Navant says the AGSC is developing an ADAS technician training and certification program to help technicians prepare for the industry’s future.
“The auto glass industry absolutely has to get dialed in and calibrate cars to an original equipment manufacturer specification,” says Peeters. “That is not going away. That is just getting more critical as time goes on.”
Abby Bowman is the editor of AGRR magazine. Email her at abowman@glass.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.
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