4-Focus IAIN ROBERTSON TAKES A LOOK AT NEW INNOVATIONS
HYUNDAI – REVISED KONA OBTAINS ADAS BRAKES AND STEERING Introduced by Hyundai five years ago, semi-autonomous steering, which could be most annoying to drivers unfamiliar with its ‘steering-nudge’ cues, worked in conjunction with exterior sensors, which ‘read’ road marker lines and issued both audible and visual warnings, as well as the ‘nudge’, to avoid straying out of a lane, unless the appropriate direction indicator was selected. For the latest revised Kona model, both electronic steering and brake technology have been advanced to a level even closer to full autonomy. While the laws related to the latter have yet to be ratified, Hyundai is introducing the AI-influenced tech through several aspects of ADAS. Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA) engages both the brakes and counter-steering, should another vehicle appear within the ‘blind spot’ but the unsighted driver attempts a lane change. Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) can also incorporate an optional camera, which increases the range of obstacle detection and is no longer good weather dependent. Should the system detect a potential collision, it applies the brakes firmly, as the car is steered away from it, which is a first for Hyundai. As aspects of a growing suite of ADAS features that are targeted at meeting full autonomy in a few years’ time, one of the more intriguing developments is Safe Exit Warning (SEW), which will inhibit a passenger exiting the Kona, when
it is not safe to do so, by disabling the door release, which will be a relief to members of the two-wheeled fraternity that often insist on squeezing past vehicles on their blind sides. How dependable the sensors will remain is the $64,000 question.
NEW CAR TECH
ROLLS-ROYCE – WORLD FIRST PLANAR SUSPENSION SYSTEM FOR ALL-NEW GHOST
18
BMW should be applauded for its commitment to the sometime ‘Englishness’ of its Rolls-Royce motorcars. While some of the renowned ‘magic carpet ride’ can be attributed historically to Citroën (RR having used developments of the French company’s oleo-pneumatic suspension spheres for many years), its latest development for the all-new Ghost is more scientifically based. Known as Planar Suspension System, it is named after a flat and level geometric plane and is the result of an exhaustive, ten years’ development period, to create a sense of ‘flight on land’ never before achieved in a car. In essence, an additional upper wishbone damper unit is located above the front suspension assembly, its activities controlled by forward reading cameras that monitor the road surface and prepare the system for any changes in it. The controlling planar software is also assisted by the car’s sat-nav system (a BMW development, already available on the new 7-Series, being readied for broader range use in the future era of autonomous motoring). The continuously variable, electronically controlled dampers, already fitted to the high-volume air suspension struts, provide the mechanical functions as usual, the new upper damper serves to refine ride and stability qualities that Rolls-Royce now believes to be the world’s best, which remains true to the ethos of Sir Henry Royce, to take the best and make it better.
