This year, after several debates between the next defenders of the environment and road safety, in Europe the speed limiter assistant will be mandatory in all vehicles. Its objective is to help reduce road accidents, consumption and polluting emissions.
The Intelligent Speed Assistant (ISA) is a system that can regulate the speed of the vehicle according to the limits established on the roads.which conditions the driver’s decision-making capacity, since he cannot choose at what speed he drives at any given moment
For several years, brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi reached a tacit agreement to put a speed limiter on their cars at 250 km/h. They did it not because their cars couldn’t get over that speed, but because they were sure it’s a sufficient top speed.
Other manufacturers went further. Since 2020 Volvo began to limit the speed of all its models to 180 km/h. The Swedish brand, which has been a standard-bearer for safety, explained that this is the way to deal with one of the causes of accidents and deaths.
The speed limiter will act according to the reading of the authorized limits in each section.
How does the ISA system work?
The intelligent speed system (ISA, for its acronym in English) is based on two existing technologies, which unites in a single assistant with autonomy to alert, prevent and influence driving.
On the one hand, there is the speed limiter that many cars have, which is associated with cruise control and allows a maximum speed to be set from which the vehicle will not continue accelerating. This limitation does not actively affect driving, and is deactivated by pressing the accelerator sufficiently.
The other technology that is added is the sign recognition system, capable of reading traffic signs, especially those of speed limits, through the front cameras, and shows it on the instrument panel screen, but it does not act on driving either, it is only for informational purposes.
The ISA system combines the two technologies and has the power to interfere with driving, restricting the maximum speed at which the vehicle travels according to the limits of the road. At first it will be disconnectable, as are other vehicle systems, but it will be activated once the engine is stopped and restarted.
It has three levels of action: In the first, it will only notify the driver that he is exceeding the speed limit and it will do so visually and audibly, both in the instrument panel and with an audible alert, but it will not act on driving. Same as how Waze speed alerts work.
The second level adds to the previous alerts the ability to intervene. That is, holding the accelerator pedal or warning through a haptic signal -technology that allows the user to perceive sensations without touching anything- on the accelerator pedal that the limit is being exceeded. At this level, the set speed can be exceeded if the right pedal is pressed to a certain depth.
Finally, at the third level the vehicle acts completely autonomously. At this point, the system will control the speed dynamically at all times, that is, it fixes the speed to the limit of the road and consequently the driver can only operate the steering wheel and the brake.
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In addition to reducing the accident rate, ISA would also help reduce polluting emissions.