Chrysler’s 300 Limited and 300C will be the first vehicles offering tier-one automotive supplier Hella’s Lidar-based (LIght Detection And Ranging) adaptive cruise control (ACC) technology as optional equipment late in the 2007 model year.

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At about half the cost of a standard, radar-based ACC system, Hella’s unit is parts of its driver assistance systems (DAS) technologies.


“ACC systems make driving more comfortable,” said Jean-Francois Tarabbia, CEO of the supplier’s automotive electronics unit. “When activated, [our] system allows drivers to keep their vehicles at a specified distance from the traffic in front. [It] automatically brakes or accelerates the vehicle depending upon traffic conditions.”


Using, opto-electronic measuring technology, Hella’s ACC employs a Lidar sensor that has a range of nearly one-and-a-half football fields (up to 500 feet) in clear-weather conditions. The unit also takes inputs from the vehicle’s speed, steering and yaw-rate sensors (used primarily for stability systems).


High, lateral resolution detects the distance to an object, and its side-to-side position and dimensions.

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Tarabbia added. “A number of other vehicle manufacturers also are contemplating using our ACC unit” but did not specify the companies.


Hella’s DAS system combines applications including an ultrasonic-based parallel parking system, rear-end collision warning, lane- departure warning (LDW), rearview cameras and sensors with advanced image- processing software, according to Tarabbia.


Vehicles equipped with these features could detect potential accident situations, provide warnings or, like the ACC system, automatically engage a vehicle’s brakes to maintain a pre-set distance between vehicles, he noted.


“Our long-term objective is to greatly reduce traffic accidents and injuries by providing safety-system devices for the broadest possible range of vehicles,” Tarabbia said.