ADAS Sensors Easily Fooled by Rain
The US American Automobile Association ("AAA" - national auto club) has over 60 million members. It recently ran tests on current Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and concluded that heavy rain caused a high rate of errors. https://www.automotivetestingtechnologyinternational.com/news/cavs/aaa-research-reveals-that-heavy-rain-often-defeats-adas-functions.html
During closed-course testing using simulated moderate to heavy rainfall, emergency brake system tests using a variety of vehicles resulted in collisions occurring 17% of the time at 25mph (40km/h) and 33% at 35mph (56km/h). Of greater concern are the findings from the lane-assist system tests, in which vehicles veered from their lanes 69% of the time.
[...] More encouraging are the results from tests looking at the effect of a dirty windshield, in which vehicles' screens were stamped with a controlled mixture of bugs, dirt and water. AAA reports that the overall system performance was not affected.
Vehicle safety systems rely on sensors and cameras to see road markings, other cars, pedestrians and roadway obstacles. So naturally, they are more vulnerable to environmental factors like rain," concluded Greg Brannon, AAA's director of automotive engineering and industry relations. The reality is people aren't always driving around in perfect, sunny weather so we must expand testing and take into consideration things people actually contend with in their day-to-day driving."
I'm an AAA member, just about to ante up my $90/year. Nice to see AAA doing some research, in addition to the more mundane services like lockout and towing (both of which I've used, over the years).
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