Pedestrian Detection Warning

Pedestrian alert systems are becoming more and more common in contemporary vehicles. In addition, such advanced systems recognise other vehicles, objects and the distance to them, and warn accordingly if this distance is reduced. How are these systems classified, what are their advantages, and can they be installed independently? All this is discussed in this article.

What is it, and how can it be classified?

It is a system, developed to prevent accidents, which popularity is constantly growing. It detects a pedestrian, cyclist on a collision path with your car. It uses the same sensors used in LDW or CTW systems – cameras, radar etc. to scan the road and roadsides for activity. Then, alerts the driver about the person or other subject standing on the side of the road or walking into the road. Some of such systems may urgently apply the brakes if the driver fails to respond. The collision sensor on high-resolution cameras captures visual information about the surrounding environment and transmits the data to a computer system, which identifies objects and instantly assesses whether the object is moving and how far it is.

The first such system appeared in 2003 on the Infinity FX and was equipped with infrared night vision sensors. A system with an automatic braking function was implemented on the Volvo S60 in 2010. Today, there is a fairly broad classification of pedestrian detection systems, which we will look at in more depth. The classification is based on four criteria: sensor type, level of autonomy, operating environment, and data processing algorithm.

By sensor type and technology:

Computer vision or cameras are based on image recognition algorithms, but are therefore less effective in poor visibility conditions (night, fog, heavy rain prevent the system from reading images).
Infrared cameras work well in the dark and detect thermal radiation. Unfortunately, they are not very effective with objects.
Radar systems determine the distance and speed of nearby objects.
Lidar technology currently has the highest performance and is the most effective pre-collision system with pedestrian detection. These are high-precision laser scanners that create a 3D map of the environment around the car and accurately identify nearby objects.
Therefore, the effectiveness of your car's pedestrian detection is determined by its hardware and the algorithms it uses.

In terms of autonomy, systems are divided into pedestrian warning systems (which only warn of danger) and active intervention systems, which automatically stop the car in the event of a collision threat.

According to Euro NCAP, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems are defined by three key features:

• Autonomous operation – the system functions without driver input to help prevent or reduce the severity of a collision.

• Emergency intervention – it activates only when a dangerous situation is detected.

• Braking response – it attempts to prevent a crash by automatically applying the brakes.

Technologies give an ability to increase the safety and many other useful things: reduce fuel consumption, find services you need worldwide and even run the car diagnostics with a smartphone and InCarDoc application.

Modern pedestrian detection in cars has mostly extended visibility for any location, whether it is a city or a motorway. However, when buying such a car on the secondary market, it is important to determine what type of system it has.

Can I install pedestrian detection on my car?

Of course, you can install pedestrian detection on your car if it wasn't there before, but first consider all the difficulties and challenges. First, you require specific, high-quality equipment: several high-resolution cameras, radar or lidar, an ECU controller, an interface for connecting to the car's CAN bus (if you want to integrate active intervention systems), and for a passive system, you may need to upgrade the display. The most difficult part of this issue is calibrating the car alert system for the car model. Most importantly, in some countries, equipping a car with an identification system is impossible due to legal restrictions and violations of car certification. In this case, only systems with EU type approval (such as Mobileye, Bosch) or special certificates are allowed to be installed. Integrating a pre-collision sensor is an expensive undertaking. Professional equipment can cost over $5,000, while an aftermarket system (more affordable and widely available) will be much cheaper, ranging from $500 to $1,500. Therefore, not all car owners see this solution as cost-effective.

Advantages of pedestrian protection systems

The obvious advantage of it is the safety of drivers and pedestrians. The system warns of risks on the road and often saves several lives. On the other hand, these kinds of systems can be flawed and make mistakes or bad choices. Although such cases are rare, they do exist. The use of AI models and machine learning technology in pedestrian detection significantly improves the situation, and in the future, the system will appear more often in cars of various classes and configurations