Automotive sector has projected substantial progress over the years. However, with the growth of the automotive sector, the number of road accidents are rising predominantly. According to the WHO’s Global status report on road safety 2018, the number of annual road traffic fatalities is about 1.3 million. Road traffic accidents occur on account of several reasons including drunk driving, speeding, distractions, lack of safety gears, unsafe vehicles, and others. In the wake of this, automotive manufacturers’ primary aim is to offer high-level safety to their consumers in the form of vehicle-based technologies that enable safer driving. New automotive vehicles are being equipped with latest, high-end technologies for improving the overall driving experience. Automotive sensors are among the key components that enhance vehicle safety, performance, and efficiency.
Government regulatory standards play a vital role in bolstering the adoption of automotive sensors in modern vehicles. For instance, as India is one of the nations with high road fatalities in the world, the government has introduced mandatory norms for making two-wheelers and cars safer. One such standard reflects the deployment of automotive sensors. Effective from July 2019, all cars will have to be equipped with rear parking sensors, driver-side airbag, speed warning systems, and seatbelt reminders.
Manufacturers Consider Automotive Sensor Innovations: Top 5 Products Introduced in the Market
In an attempt to contribute to the efforts of elevating driver and passenger safety worldwide and stay compliant with government regulations, manufacturers of automotive sensors are constantly working on innovating their products with next-gen technologies.
- New products by STMicroelectronics—automotive global shutter image sensors, VG5661 and VG5761 are designed for effective driver monitoring. These automotive sensors are embedded with the automotive global shutter technology by ST, which minimizes the illumination power consumption intensely. Driver fatigue is considered a major factor resulting in about 25 percent of road accidents. The ST’s image sensors enhance driver monitoring which can reduce injuries and prevent accidents. The sensing accuracy of these automotive sensors aids autonomous-driving systems in assessing a driver’s fitness, to carry out the transition from manual to autonomous driving mode for further safety and comfort.
- Automotive sensors by Bosch facilitates automated vehicles to determine their position precisely. Bosch recently developed vehicle motion and a position sensor which aids automated vehicles in reliable, precise, and safe vehicle localization as it brings together error correction data, GNSS (global navigation satellite-system) position signals, and data from the car’s inertial sensors. This solution tackles the challenges pertaining to inaccuracies in data with satellite-based positioning owing to the dispersion of signals that pass through ionosphere and cloud layers.
- Another world-leading performance sensor solutions provider, ams introduced automotive position sensors an I2C interface that empowers the development of designs that save up on space in space-critical automotive applications. These are designed for shifter position detection in conventional, as well as battery-powered, and hybrid vehicles.
- A leading 3D radar imaging technology provider, Vayyar Imaging recently launched its Automotive Evaluation Kit. The new sensor kit offers the automotive sector an advanced System on a Chip for mmWare 3D imaging. The company has introduced point cloud technology to radar, thereby increasing the capabilities and resolutions of the radar.
- TDK Corp. unveiled a new line of automotive high-accuracy MEMS motion sensors that include “MotionTracking” automotive-qualified six-axis inertial measurements units. With this, the company has expanded TDK’s existing product line of automotive sensors. These new automotive sensors are capable of improving the absolute position of a vehicle in poor GNSS and GPS environments including parking garages, tunnels, and urban canyons.
Automotive sensors market has witnessed more such new product developments owing to the increasing emphasis given to driver safety and comfort. Readers can access the study to avail a holistic understanding of the market.