ADAS in Your Pocket – A Review of the Features, Functions and Future Of Smartphone-Based Advanced Driver Assistance System

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are technology systems that rely on a combination of sensors that scan the road environment to detect potentially hazardous situations and assist the driver to either avoid the hazard, or to reduce the severity of outcomes if a crash is unavoidable. Recent developments in consumer-level smartphone technology have allowed third party software applications to make ADAS functionality accessible to millions of mobile phone users. By utilising the smartphone’s hardware such as cameras, positioning sensors and processors, together with software-based object recognition and tracking algorithms, these applications purport to allow users to receive real time road hazard detection and warnings. These smartphone-based ADAS applications are compatible with many popular models of smartphone and offer ADAS functionality that includes Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA). ADAS related applications are identified and reviewed for claimed features and functionality. Applications with the most promising functionality are acquired for more detailed evaluations. The authors review the features and functionality of selected ADAS applications using several different smartphone models. They report on the results of on-road performance evaluations that examine the effectiveness and limitations of these. They also explore potential road safety benefits for drivers whose vehicle is not equipped with ADAS, but who have a smartphone available when they drive. The results confirm that ADAS applications are capable of vehicle detection/tracking, lane marking detection, road sign detection, speed zone detection and related warning functionality, however the performance between apps varied and issues such as false alerts, non-detections and incorrect detections were recorded. While smartphone-based ADAS can provide reliable, and potentially useful road safety benefits to drivers, these potential benefits depend on a combination of the hardware capability of the smartphone, the sophistication of the application and, to a lesser extent, the correct set up of the smartphone in the vehicle. Furthermore, while smartphone-based ADAS has the potential to improve road safety, especially where OEM-fitted ADAS is not a feasible option, there are inherent limitations posed by current technology. Finally, subject to appropriate provisions in relevant regulations, the barriers to the adoption of smartphone-based ADAS appear low and the main barrier to adoption is that smartphone users are unaware that ADAS applications exist. The authors foresee that continued developments in smartphone hardware and processing capability, together with software evolution in ADAS applications, will continue to improve the reliability and effectiveness of smartphone-based ADAS in the future.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Web
  • Features: Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 13p
  • Monograph Title: 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV): Enhanced and Equitable Vehicle Safety for All: Toward the Next 50 Years

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01892155
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 23-0245
  • Files: TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
  • Created Date: Aug 31 2023 5:09PM