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ZF  coPILOT ZF  coPILOT

Semi-Automated Driving - Redefined

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With ZF coPILOT, ZF and NVIDIA developed an advanced driver assistance system that controls a great many useful functions centrally, contributing in the process to a comfortable and safe driving experience.
Andreas Neemann,
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Andreas Neemann wrote his first ZF text in 2001 about 6HP transmissions. Since then, the automotive writer has filled many publications for internal and external readers, showcasing his passion for the Group's more complex subjects.
It can be a great thing to combine adaptive cruise control with Lane Keeping Assist in the car. It is an advantage to use this advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) in stop-and-go traffic or when following a truck slowly down a country road on which overtaking is prohibited. The adaptive cruise control (ACC) maintains a constant speed and a constant distance from the vehicle in front. The vehicle not only accelerates and brakes autonomously, its lateral support system also automatically keeps it in its lane.

The adaptive cruise control (ACC) maintains a constant speed and a constant distance from the vehicle in front. The vehicle not only accelerates and brakes autonomously, its lateral support system also automatically keeps it in its lane.
This SAE-Level 2 form of semi-automated driving makes it more pleasant for drivers behind the wheel, who can at times even take their hands off the steering wheel. Of course, drivers must always be ready at any time to restore their grip on the steering wheel. “At the present time, assistance systems warn us in good time to avoid driving errors, or to correct them rapidly. This also helps to prevent accidents. However, they should also provide some measure of additional ride comfort. If systems do not respond fluently or if, under adverse weather conditions, they cut out too rapidly because they simply do not function under those conditions, then this reduces their acceptability to drivers”, states Torsten Gollewski, Head of Autonomous Mobility Systems at ZF.
The ZF coPILOT will be available from 2021.

No Need to Wait for Levels 3 and 4

No Need to Wait for Levels 3 and 4

Does this mean that people should wait until SAE Levels 3 and 4 of automated driving are achieved? Level 3 in this classification of automated driving enables drivers to relinquish steering control of their vehicles for extended periods or even permanently (Level 4). With Level 3 for example, drivers can focus attention on their children in the back seat, or write an SMS or an e-mail. At Level 4, fully automated driving, the car handles all driving tasks autonomously.
Over and above the fact that there are still unresolved legislative questions in relation to the registration of vehicles with Level 3 and 4 capabilities, their additional functions, when compared to those of a Level 2 vehicle, are quite literally an expensive proposition. Even Level 3 requires much more complex system architecture. This system architecture is no longer simply based on the ADAS already available today. Instead, autonomous driving with its sensor systems, computing power, and algorithms is essentially being reinvented. “This raises the question as to whether Level 3 and Level 4 even have any real attraction for the classic buyer of a car”, says Gollewski. “Even at Level 3, the assumed cost-benefit ratio is not a balanced one. Level 4 is really more of interest to fleet operators and robo taxis engaged in commercial operations, rather than something for the individual motorist.”
Experience ZF coPILOT - Your personal driving assistant

ZF Gives Level 2 Automated Driving an Extra Boost

ZF Gives Level 2 Automated Driving an Extra Boost

To enable many car drivers to benefit rapidly from the advantages of semi-automated driving, ZF is committed to the intelligent reconfiguration of Level 2 and came up with
“Level 2+”: working together with its technology partner NVIDIA, the Group created the ZF coPILOT, equipped with artificial intelligence and a comprehensive set of sensors and integrating several ADAS in a complete system. The brain of the system is the ZF ProAI mainframe computer. The pre-trained algorithms for all driver assistance functions are incorporated in this central computer, where they are controlled as a fully-integrated system. The advantage of this is that the system is flexible and scalable. If desired, automotive manufacturers can incorporate additional functions of their own, or ones developed by ZF. The system will be available from 2021.
The ZF coPILOT independently masters certain driving maneuvers, such as driving onto a highway and exiting.

ZF coPILOT: Driver Assistance at a New Level

ZF coPILOT: Driver Assistance at a New Level

A demonstrator that ZF unveiled at the Auto Shanghai 2019 trade fair shows just how well ZF coPILOT performs. This vehicle can handle specific driving maneuvers autonomously, such as merging onto or exiting a freeway. For semi-automated freeway driving, the ZF coPILOT combines an extended ACC system with active steering assistance and Lane Keeping Assist. The driver can use voice commands with ZF coPILOT proactively to change lanes, overtake and merge again. Also on board: intelligent navigation included with 'MyRoute' – a map function that recognizes repeating routes. This comprehensive package provides substantially more than the previous combined total of assistance systems. “ZF coPILOT provides driving and safety functions that go well beyond the performance level of a regular Level 2 system for semi-automated driving. This enables us to achieve a new quality of semi-automated driving that could otherwise only be accomplished using the more elaborate and much more costly integration of Level 3 functions”, states Gollewski.
While in operation, ZF coPILOT continuously analyzes vehicle surroundings, enabling it to recognize pedestrians, oncoming traffic, and intersections, and to assist drivers if they happen to overlook something. Of course, the driver assistance functions of ZF coPILOT can also be disabled with convenient voice commands. Nonetheless, the system does keep a watchful eye on the driver, since it includes cameras and driver monitoring functions. If a driver looks about to fall asleep or is distracted for too long, ZF coPILOT reports in to warn of potential danger.