Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems has introduced OnGuard, a new technology designed to further improve commercial vehicle safety. OnGuard is currently installed on nearly 200 vehicles and is targeted for third quarter 2008 availability as a factory-installed option at several OEM brands.
OnGuard is a forward-looking, radar-based adaptive cruise control system with active braking for commercial vehicles in North America. New to the North American industry, active braking improves vehicle safety by automatically using the vehicle foundation brakes to alert the driver and decelerate the vehicle when a pre-set vehicle following distance is compromised.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to improve vehicle safety for highways, drivers and fleets, OnGuard was designed to equip drivers with automated features that help ensure safe following distances and provide active braking as needed,” said Jon Morrison, president and general manager, Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems. “The driver is still the most important element in maintaining vehicle safety however, the system can provide the additional split-second deceleration needed to maintain control of the vehicle in an emergency situation.”
Automatic foundation brake intervention distinguishes OnGuard from existing passive collision warning systems, which can only alert the driver to a potentially dangerous situation through alarm and engine braking. With this new product on the truck, if the pre-determined “safe” distance is compromised, OnGuard will provide visual and audible warning to the driver, vehicle deceleration through engine control, retarder control and most importantly, noticeable foundation braking. Foundation brake deceleration can be as great as one-third of a full brake application for the vehicle but within safe limits for the driver to take control, the company said.
OnGuard fully integrates with the joint venture’s anti-lock braking and stability control systems, allowing the customer to combine stability control and collision safety system via a single brake ABS ECU versus having additional “add-on” systems.
OnGuard’s forward-looking, mono-pulse radar sensor is capable of detecting multiple moving and fixed objects at distances up to 500 ft. away. It coordinates responses from the engine, transmission, and anti-lock braking systems through communications across the SAE J1939 data network. It provides feedback to the driver through the in-cab dash display, which includes a progressive audible alert.
This sequence of monitoring, warning and intervention is an important part of Meritor WABCO’s strategy to reduce false alarms. OnGuard uses a proprietary time-to-collision algorithm, unlike the simple two-second headway alarms used by today’s passive braking systems. The company said driver feedback from field tests covering over 10 million fleet-miles over a two-year period showed significantly better performance, reliability, and driver confidence in OnGuard compared to collision warning systems currently available in North America.
For more information, visit http://www.wabco-auto.com/ or http://www.arvinmeritor.com/.
