AAA Recommends Common Naming for ADAS Technology

Some Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have been available for nearly 30 years, however, they have only become more commonplace in the last several years, like automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assistance. Since these features now come standard on many new vehicles, it is becoming increasingly important for consumers to have a solid understanding of their functionality. However, with the current variety of marketing names and lack of consensus by industry regulatory groups, it has been difficult for consumers to discern what features a vehicle has and how they actually work.

AAA set out to understand the growing prevalence of ADAS technology in new vehicles as well as examine the terminology currently used by regulatory organizations and manufacturers. Previous AAA research found that 40 percent of Americans expect partially automated driving systems with names like Autopilot, ProPILOT or Pilot Assist, to have the ability to drive the car by itself. This research highlights the need for standardization of terms and definitions for ADAS features.

Key Findings

Cost/Prevalence of ADAS Technology

AAA examined 2018 model year vehicles to identify the percentage of ADAS technology that comes standard and found the following three features are the most prevalent:

  • Automatic Emergency Braking – 30.6%
  • Lane Keeping Assistance – 13.9%
  • Adaptive Cruise Control – 11.8%

Multiple ADAS features are often sold as part of an optional technology bundle. On average, the cost of an ADAS bundle is approximately $1,950.

At least one ADAS feature is available in 92.7 percent of new vehicle models available in the United States as of May 2018.

Terminology Review

AAA’s Automotive Engineering team examined 34 vehicle brands sold in the United States to identify the number of unique names manufacturers use to market ADAS. AAA found the following regarding the number of terms used to describe a single ADAS feature:

ADAS FEATURENUMBER OF UNIQUE NAMES
Automatic Emergency Braking40
Adaptive Cruise Control20
Surround View Camera20
Lane Keeping Assistance19
Blind Spot Warning19
Automatic High Beams18
Rear Cross Traffic Warning15
Driver Monitoring13
Semi-Automated Parking Assist12
Forward Collision Warning8
Night Vision and Pedestrian Detection5
AAA Proposed Terminology for ADAS

AAA is proposing terminology that is intended to be simple, specific and based on system functionality.

AUTOMATED DRIVING TASKSDEFINITION
Adaptive Cruise ControlControls acceleration and/or braking to maintain a prescribed distance between it and a vehicle in front. May be able to come to a stop and continue.
Dynamic Driving AssistanceControls vehicle acceleration, braking, and steering. SAE standard definition of L2 Autonomous systems outlines this functionality.
Lane Keeping AssistanceControls steering to maintain vehicle within driving lane. May prevent vehicle from departing lane or continually center vehicle.
COLLISION ALERTSDEFINITION
Blind Spot WarningDetects vehicles to rear in adjacent lanes while driving and alerts driver to their presence.
Forward Collision WarningDetects impending collision while traveling forward and alerts driver.
Lane Departure WarningMonitors vehicle’s position within driving lane and alerts driver as the vehicle approaches or crosses lane markers.
Parking Obstruction WarningDetects obstructions in close proximity to vehicle during parking maneuvers.
Pedestrian DetectionDetects pedestrians in front of vehicle and alerts driver to their presence.
Rear Cross Traffic WarningDetects vehicles approaching from side and rear of vehicles while traveling in reverse and alerts driver.
COLLISION MITIGATIONDEFINITION
Automatic Emergency SteeringDetects potential collision and automatically controls steering to avoid or lessen the severity of impact.
Forward Automatic Emergency BrakingDetects potential collisions while traveling forward and automatically applies brakes to avoid or lessen the severity of impact.
Reverse Automatic Emergency BrakingDetects potential collision while traveling in reverse and automatically applies brakes to avoid or lessen the severity of impact.
PARKING ASSISTANCEDEFINITION
Fully-automated Parking AssistanceControls acceleration, braking, steering, and shifting during parking. May be capable of parallel and / or perpendicular parking.
Remote ParkingSystem parks vehicle without driver being physically present inside the vehicle. Automatically controls acceleration, braking, steering, and shifting.
Semi-automated Parking AssistanceControls steering during parking. Driver responsible for acceleration, braking, and gear position. May be capable of parallel and/or perpendicular parking.
Surround View CameraUses cameras located around vehicle to present view of surroundings.
Trailer AssistanceSystem that assists driver during backing maneuvers with a trailer attached.
MISC. DRIVING AIDSDEFINITION
Automatic High BeamsDeactivates or orients headlamp beams automatically based on lighting, surroundings, and traffic.
Driver MonitoringMonitors driver condition by various means to detect drowsiness or lack of attention.
Night VisionA system that aids driver vision at night by projecting enhanced images on instrument cluster or heads-up display.

Source: AAA

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