Safety suppliers say they expect sales of systems using radar technology to receive a boost in the future.

Today such systems are usually used only on high-end cars. But as Chinese consumers demand more assistance with parking and to avoid collisions, more automakers are expressing interest in safety systems that use radar technology.

"We see [in China] production opportunities for adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and automatic braking assistance as early as 2012," says Henry Wong, regional manager for advanced product development in Delphi's electronics and safety division.

Delphi's China Technical Center in Shanghai has built a demo vehicle with electronically scanning radar (ESR) which assists the driver with a pre-collision warning. "Delphi plans to introduce its 76 GHz ESR to the China market and is working with China car makers towards adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning production programs for the near future," says Wong.

TRW Automotive has just launched a cost effective collision warning system specifically designed for urban areas. The 24 GHz AC100 radar system is significantly cheaper than TRW's 77 GHz system used in higher end cars, says Peter Lake, executive vice president of sales and business development at TRW.

"TRW has an objective of making technologies available to all and we hope this product could make it possible to introduce driver assistance systems effectively in China," says Lynette Jackson, spokesperson for TRW.

Dietmar Siemssen, Asia president of Continental's chassis and safety division says he expects Chinese automakers to begin ordering intelligent safety systems which use radar technology. In July, Continental AG began construction of a new electronics plant in Shanghai which will also make products for its chassis and safety divisions. The plant will be ready by mid-2010.

"We expect to start from forward safety in combination with ACC (adaptive cruise control) to lateral safety, for example blind spot detection," says Siemssen.

Continental's ACC uses sensors to continuously observe vehicles' surroundings; it then adjusts the distances without the driver having to intervene. Blind spot detection warns the driver when there are vehicles or obstacles in the blind spot area of the rear view mirror.

"We are delivering our radar technology to several customers, but not to Chinese customers yet," says Siemsson. "Chinese automakers will follow global automakers' trend in the near future," he adds.

Source : internet

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