STMicroelectronics deliver second-generation system-on-chip for vision-based driver assistance systems

STMicroelectronics has announced that the two companies have successfully sampled the second generation of their system-on-chip EyeQ2 for the vision-based driver assistance segment of the automotive market.

The implementation of this type of technology is fundamental for increasing safety on ever more congested roads. According to research (Autosafe 2006) the total number of casualties on the roads of USA, Europe and Japan was 94,000 and regional programs are being launched to reduce this to 63,000 by 2010. It has been shown that if drivers reacted half a second earlier, they would avoid approximately half of all accidents. In Europe, one third of accidents are due to lane changing or leaving the road, and overall two thirds are due to lack of attention.

The first generation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, implemented on EyeQ1, are already in production at several car makers and offer functionality such as lane-departure warning (LDW), adaptive headlight control, traffic-sign recognition, collision avoidance through radar/camera fusion and forward collision warning that can drastically reduce the number of accidents. The LDW is akin to a ‘virtual rumble strip’ that alerts drivers when they cross lane markings – a common factor in many head-on collisions and other serious accidents.

As a significant portion of run-off-road crashes are attributed to driving while drowsy, to the point of falling asleep at the wheel, Mobileye’s lane-detection technologies can play an instrumental role in reducing accidents and fatalities for multi-tasking motorists who also log long hours.

The new generation ADAS being sampled now takes this active safety concept to a new level. By increasing the processing power six fold, the EyeQ2 introduces added functionality, such as pedestrian detection and well as the previously mentioned lane-departure warning (LDW), adaptive headlight control, traffic-sign recognition, collision avoidance and forward collision warning on one vision processor. The EyeQ2 takes input from two high-resolution image sensors and has video-output capabilities that include graphic overlay.

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users and in the EU alone, it is estimated that there are 9,000 fatalities and 200,000 injuries from road accidents involving cars colliding with pedestrians or cyclists. Pedestrian detection is in development with a major European OEM and is slated for production on EyeQ2 bundled together with additional features including LDW and collision-mitigation functions.

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