Will ADAS as a technology survive in India?

In a recent interaction with Tata Elxsi, it was understood that ADAS features which provide warning will be the ones which will get popular in the Indian market soon. While technologies involving active countermeasures will be adopted gradually

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, is the industry's buzzword. ADAS are technical features developed to improve vehicle safety. The systems are largely concerned with collision avoidance technologies (e.g. lane departure warning and blind-spot applications) and driver assistance features such as night vision, driver awareness and adaptive cruise control.

While the technology is becoming increasingly popular in India with major vehicle manufacturers incorporating it into their vehicles, are they truly useful in India? India is a truly unique market. Traffic moves very differently here than it does in the Western world, for which the systems were originally intended.

It has frequently been observed that an Indian vehicle's ADAS systems did not function effectively, causing some annoyance. This can be ascribed to a variety of circumstances, including other drivers' conduct. Ashwin Ramachandra, Head of Digital Services Practice in Transportation Business, Tata Elxsi, explained to HT Auto that most of the ADAS features require other vehicles to follow a certain driving pattern.

However there are certain features which do not function depending on other vehicles on the road, and Ramachandra expects that these features will become popular in India in the future. Lane departure warning, which is intended to help drivers prevent accidents caused by drifting or leaving their lane, is an excellent example.

The technology identifies lane markings and informs the driver when a tyre comes into contact with lane markings. The warning is normally displayed as a flashing indicator or a beep from the appropriate side. In certain systems, the steering wheel or driver's seat vibrates gently.

Personal experience

While driving a well-known vehicle with ADAS, it was discovered that, while AEB (automatic emergency braking) is a life-saving device, it requires specific conditions to function. While driving in congested Delhi traffic, the car could detect the vehicle in front because it was not totally in front of us, rather covering three-quarters of our vehicle.

In another case, the car opted to slam the brakes and stop in the middle of a busy road. In such cases, the risks of rear-ending are extremely high.

Conclusion

ADAS has shown to be a very safe technology around the world, preventing several accidents. However, due to India being a unique market, the needs change. While automakers thoroughly test their vehicles before introducing these ADAS technologies, some road scenarios put these features to the ultimate test.

Ramachandra believes that safety warnings such as front collision warning, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring, which are extremely beneficial in keeping drivers alert, will be find popularity soon and will be included in mass market and entry-level automobiles.

"Warnings will go through the entire segment and we will probably start seeing it even in entry vehicles in a few years time as well," he added. However, active actions to act and counteract against these warnings will be less popular for the time being, but they will be implemented gradually, according to Ramachandra.