For ADAS to reach its safety potential, industry must get consumers to buy in

Advanced driver-assistance systems are touted as today's answer to road safety. The technology is mandated across Europe, as "technical progress in the area of advanced vehicle safety systems [like ADAS] offers new possibilities for reducing [pedestrian and driver] casualty numbers." Meanwhile, regulators in the U.S. plan to address road safety issues with similar advances that prevent distracted driving in privately owned vehicles.

Such regulation could be met with resistance from the average driver. A report assessing drivers' attitudes toward advanced driver-assistance systems found that 70 percent of drivers disable "bothersome" lane-keeping assist and lane-centering systems. Furthermore, a staggering 84 percent of drivers feel that driver-assistance features don't promote safe driving at all and could actually lead to a preventable collision.

Though regulators understand the potential of this technology, drivers haven't bought in — yet. It's clear that advanced driver-assistance systems as currently designed aren't working for consumers. While the industry works to enhance road safety tech to surpass the ability of human drivers, it must also change public perception to ensure users are comfortable — and confident — in fully and semi-autonomous systems. New technologies are enabling manufacturers to move at pace to address critical performance gaps, but consumer education must be brought up to speed to fully unleash the benefits of an autonomous driving future.

There's a lot riding on advanced driver-assistance technology to reduce road fatalities. The global market is expected to reach $60 billion by 2026. Despite it being a concentrated area of development for many automakers, only 20 percent of drivers begin the buying process seeking out a driver-assistance-equipped vehicle. That figure demonstrates the consumer education gap and must represent a turning point for automotive manufacturers. If only 20 percent of buyers go on to a purchase vehicle with driver-assist technology enabled, how can automakers continue to justify investment in improved safety features, and how do they change consumer perception to convey the critical safety value?

The industry must start with transparency so consumers can understand a vehicle's capabilities and limits. Camera technologies are most common in vehicles today with advanced driver-assistance features, but they are limited to analyzing the visible conditions in front of and surrounding a vehicle. Similar to the human eye, a camera is subject to the environment it's operating in — harsh lighting, inclement weather and obstructed views all skew the performance of the technology, putting both driver and pedestrian at risk.

GPS and Global Navigation Satellite System sensors, which function off a satellite interface, are popular for determining where a vehicle is on Earth but don't work when centimeter-level accuracy is required and can be unreliable in areas where service is blocked, such as urban canyons, parking garages and off-roading sites.

Lidar technology is tiptoeing into luxury vehicles operating at Level 2+ and Level 3 autonomy because of stubborn cost levels and issues common with cameras such as identifying objects unobstructed by common road conditions including rain or snow. Consumer understanding of these performance trade-offs will help consumers view driver-assist systems as helpful, not bothersome or harmful.

One of the top reasons for turning off safety features is a belief that the technology is not working properly. New technologies fill some of these must-solve performance gaps. By scanning the subsurface of a road up to 10 feet deep, for example, ground-positioning radar is able to accurately position a vehicle on the roadway regardless of GPS availability, presence of clear lane markings, challenging visual terrain and other common issues where today's advanced driver-assist systems fail. This means more accurate features such as lane assist, centering and autonomous parking.

The possibilities go beyond replicating human perception for automated vehicles. Subterranean radar images enable a new dimension of vehicle "sight," tapping into data not available to the naked eye — enabling safer, higher-performing driving in all conditions and environments. When it comes to full autonomy, fusing several independent approaches — from cameras to lidar to radar — is the best way to ensure a robust solution and eliminate failures that would endanger vehicle occupants and pedestrians.

Consumers need reliable performance in all environments and driving conditions to build trust, and the automotive industry needs advanced technology to enhance advanced driver-assistance systems on the market today to speak to user concerns and support the driving experience in the way they expect.

Automated vehicles will soon meet consumer needs — AVs of the future hold the potential to surpass human drivers in safety and efficiency. With new, enhanced sensor systems, advanced driver-assistance technology can be an important accelerant of full autonomy.

However, none of the benefits will be recognized without consumer buy-in, and, by extension, consumer education. Buoyed by public support, the industry will be able to better engage lawmakers and regulators. It's an opportunity to have an honest conversation about where the industry and products are today and where they're headed in the near future. By treating consumers as partners and stakeholders, the industry can be more strategic in the rollout of automated vehicle technology.

The industry can leverage the advances in driver-assist technologies as the focal point for what's available now and reassure consumers that this is only the beginning. In doing so, the industry will ignite public interest and demonstrate the huge benefits of automated driving systems as safer and more reliable than anything on the road today.