|
Distronic
Over 40,000 DISTRONIC Proximity Cruise Control Systems in Use
Worldwide
Stuttgart, 02/25/2003 - DISTRONIC proximity cruise control now
contributes to safe, comfortable and stress-free driving in five
Mercedes-Benz models. The high-performance assistance system, which went
into series production at the end of 1998, has proven its worth in over
40,000 Mercedes passenger cars worldwide. As such, Mercedes-Benz is the
world’s largest provider of automatic proximity cruise control systems.
DISTRONIC is available for the CLK, E, S, CL and SL Classes as optional
equipment. The system uses a radar sensor located behind the radiator
grille to maintain a constant distance from the vehicle in front. As a
result, DISTRONIC makes driving on roads with a great deal of traffic
more comfortable, less stressful and more relaxing. Surveys conducted by
Daimler Research show that driver reaction times are up to 40
percent faster when DISTRONIC is used than without it.
text and pics Daimler AG
Distronic cruise control simply let's you set the desired
speed and the distance to the car in front.
With no car in front of you, it attains the regulated speed.
Green-red distance indicator
Some drivers switch it off in very dense traffic since others cut
into the space kept by Distronic... Distronic keeps a distance
of a minimum of 1 to a max of 2 seconds. But others use it particularly
in dense traffic since it measures the distance to preceding cars more
precisely than a driver can estimate it.
|
Distronic
debuts on the model year 2007 M-Class, R-Class and GL.
Distronic stalk
Distronic EPCnet info for GL
Distronic is option code 219, starting October 2006.
Distronic was discontinued with model year 2009.
Recommended Distronic Installer: MBenzNL
"retrofitting distronic into a ML/GL/R class is a "walk-in-the-park"
compared to some of the other MB models and is something we have
done many times already...the tough part - however - is version coding
as mercedes benz does not allow their dealerships to add distronic
to the data card which makes getting the required code strings difficult.
We do a lot of distronic retrofits for several mercedes dealerships
(in germany, the netherlands and the US).
greetingz, ..MBenzNL.com...MBenzNL.com.."
Distronic Plus
debuts on the new S-Class and CL for model year 2007 with option code 233.
In model year 2008 Blind Spot Assist and Parking Guidance is added.
|
2009 S-Class improvements
Mercedes refined their radar technology even further.
Situations potentially leading to an accident are recognised by two
short-range radar sensors behind the front bumper (80-degree scanning angle),
which have a range of around 30 metres, and a long-range radar sensor in
the radiator grille. Mercedes-Benz has improved the performance of these
sensors even further. In the 2009 S-Class, the system uses a newly developed
long-range radar sensor with a range of 200 rather then the previous
150 metres. This sensor now also allows mid-range detection, monitoring
the area up to 60 metres ahead of the car with a scanning angle of 60 degrees.
This new technology enables the road ahead to be monitored even more
precisely, with better detection of dynamic processes such as a sudden
lane-change by a vehicle ahead.
Bosch's third generation long range radar (LRR3) system
The Bosch LRR3 radar sensor is considerably more efficient than its
predecessor model, the LRR2. Its sensing range now stretches from 0.5 to
250 meters, instead of the 2 to 200 meters to date. At 30 degrees, the
sensor beam width is twice that of the previous version. Automakers can
now also have the field of view designed to specification.
The new radar sensor generation is robust in more ways than one. On the
one hand, the Bosch experts use modified modulation processes, thus
achieving a high level of detection reliability and considerably better
interference immunity during signal evaluation. On the other hand, they
have succeeded in achieving the large sensing range without using any
moving parts at all. The sensor therefore works reliably and wear-free
- optimum conditions for use in commercial vehicles. The detection field
of the LRR 3 senses up to 32 objects simultaneously - both vehicles and
standing objects -, can classify them as relevant for ACC (Adaptive
Cruise Control) or PSS (Predictive Safety Systems, e.g. PreSafe), and
react accordingly. And it does so with extreme precision in terms of
distance, velocity, and angles to the objects.
The radar sensor works in the approved frequency band between 76 and 77
gigahertz. Bosch is the first system manufacturer worldwide to use
silicon-germanium technology in its radar's front end. On the one hand,
this ensures superior sensor quality, even for large production volumes.
On the other hand, this technology provides considerable cost advantages.
It opens up new applications and creates the conditions for high
production quantities.
The first series production of the LRR3 long-range radar sensor is planned
for the beginning of 2009. Bosch engineers are already working on further
series production projects. One of these is a particularly interesting
technical solution for the Bosch automatic emergency braking system
Predictive Emergency Braking. In this solution, the engineers combine the
LRR3 evaluation signals with the signals from a video camera to detect the
risk of a rear-end collision and to minimize the consequences of an accident
by triggering a very safe, automatic emergency braking process via the
ESP® electronic stability program.
"Radar on Chip for Cars" (RoCC) at 79 GHz
Also using Infineon's SiGe chips, Continental developed the first
demonstrator of a short-range radar system at 79 GHz.
Short-range automotive radar sensors in use today use ultra-wide band
technology at 24 GHz. This frequency, however, is licensed in Europe
only up until the year 2013. The RoCC project aims to convert the system
to the frequency range already released by the European Union of 79 GHz,
and deliver systems that use these higher-frequency sensors at a cost
that does not exceed today's 24-GHz systems. This presents a significant
challenge to semiconductor technology, sensor design technology and
in-vehicle integration that can only be tackled by a joint research
project involving some of the most important companies in the
automotive industry and their suppliers. The future "Radar on Chip
for Cars" sensors are highly integrated and cost-optimized and work
in the frequency range of 76 to 81 GHz.
May 28, 2009
Resources:
Future:
Real time inter-vehicle communication to further extend the driver's horizon.
Developed at Mercedes-Benz Research and Development North America
in Palo Alto (US version). The developers believe this is more cost effective
than Distronic on the hardware side "just plug the antenna into the
cars' bus" and will extend the range to around 600 feet per hop.
Multi-hops may reach considerably further, also around curves and
over crests. Authentication, priority, adoption etc to be worked out.
car-to-car communication
speedtronic
telematics
|
You are so far and near. - fligo
|
Wolfgang's MB Page
|
|