Bosch’s Traffic Jam Assist Self Drive mode Takes Control of the Car in a Traffic Jam and Drives Autonomously.

The stress and frustration of being caught in a traffic jam will soon be a thing of the past, as a new driver assistance system (Bosch’s Traffic Jam Assist system) goes LIVE.

Bosch, a leading international supplier of automotive technology and services has launched it’s Traffic Jam Assistant system, a software programme that can guide vehicles through highway traffic jams.

Bosch’s Traffic Jam Assist system is a significant step towards fully automated driving, whereby onboard computers will take on the active role of actually driving the car. This first step, which will start being introduced into vehicles by car manufacturers in 2016, will make the stress of driving in stop/start traffic a thing of the past, as Traffic Jam Assist takes over this tiresome chore.

The software in Traffic Jam Assist takes its intelligence from a windscreen-mounted camera and radar embedded into the front of the car. The camera monitors the lane markings and the radar monitors the position and speed of the car in front. Traffic Jam Assist uses this information to keep the car in lane and at a safe distance.

 

With the stereo video camera, vehicle manufacturers can use a single sensor to integrate a wide range of driver assistance functions, which help improve safety and comfort and fulfill the ever-increasing safety standards set by legislators and consumer protection organizations.

Basically, with the system you can do something else in stop and go traffic and jams, as well. It keeps up with traffic using a camera and radar, just like any self driving system currently out there and relies on powerful software to make sense of the data it’s gathering from all around.

With the stereo camera, Bosch offers a scalable platform that combines the established functions of a mono camera with the benefits of the three-dimensional (3D) environment detection offered by stereo technology. Its range of functions can be adapted to customer requirements on a large scale.

Stereo video camera

The stereo camera’s two CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) color imagers have a resolution of 1,280 x 960 pixels. Using a powerful lens system, the camera records a horizontal field of view of 50 degrees and offers a 3-D measurement range of more than 50 meters. The image sensors, which feature highly sensitive and dynamic lighting technology, can process high-contrast images and cover the wavelength range that is visible to the human eye.

The stereo video camera allows the integration of a wide range of functions to make driving safer and more comfortable. The three-dimensional recording of the vehicle’s surroundings also provides the basis for the automated driving functions of the future.

Today, adaptive cruise control (ACC) already tracks the vehicles ahead and adapts the distance and speed of the driver’s own vehicle accordingly. The Traffic Jam Assistant will additionally integrate a lane-detection camera, and electric power steering. The next functional step will include automatic lane changing. This requires two additional features – a rear-mounted radar sensor and a dynamic navigation map.
Following its initial scheduled launch, Bosch’s Traffic Jam Assistant will be further enhanced to cover faster speeds and more complex driving situations.