One of the leaders in safety features for many years, Subaru, is in the final stages of development of a fascinating new system called EyeSight. Unlike crash avoidance and mitigation features we have previously described in European and other Japanese vehicles, Subaru's system uses cameras, rather than radar, in its operation.

Subaru says cameras give a much clearer picture of what’s in front of the vehicle and don’t have to rely on reflections coming back from other objects. Anything that can be seen by the human eye will create an image behind the cameras’ lenses. On the other hand, radar only works when its beams are reflected back from metallic or similar surfaces. So radar may not ‘see’ pedestrians, cyclists or animals.  

 

        

The EyeSight system uses stereo cameras neatly mounted inside the windscreen on either side of the interior rear vision mirror. They give a slightly sci-fi look to the front of the car, reminiscent of the cameras on the Spirit and Opportunity rovers that are doing such a stunning job of exploring Mars!

The Subaru’s cameras use triangulation to estimate distances and angles of objects in front of the Subaru. They then send information to a computer which sorts out the information into objects that require immediate action, or which merely have to be monitored in case things change.

Subaru engineers are currently in Australia to fine tune EyeSight to unique Australian needs and we have had the chance to test the prototype under controlled conditions at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway.

To start with we were able to view what the computer was seeing instant by instant on a special screen inside the prototype vehicle, and we were most impressed by the clarity and depth of detail provided.

 
              

One test we performed was driving up to the back of a dummy car (made principally from foam rubber!) at 30 km/h and pretending we were too distracted to use the brakes. Our car seemingly got far too close to the ‘vehicle’ in front and then sounded a buzzer and jammed the brakes on hard. We came to a stop less than a metre from the car. And stopped with my heart racing – it's completely against all our instincts as drivers to perform this sort of manoeuvre.

If the speed difference between your car and the one it's approaching is less than 30 km/h EyeSight can prevent a collision, above that speed a crash will occur, but the consequences will be lessened.

Subaru's EyeSight can also detect when a car is wandering out of its lane. It does this by looking at the lane lines and sounding a buzzer if the car gets too close to them and the driver hasn't activated a blinker. Cleverly, the Subaru's tyres don’t have to touch the lane line before it gives the warning. Simply getting too close to it is enough.

Another feature is detection of possible driver drowsiness. If EyeSight senses the car is moving swaying from side to side within lanes within a short space of time it senses the driver may be dozing off and sounds a warning.

EyeSight can also be used as a component in active cruise control. We experienced this by driving behind another car and watching the way our car matched its speed. We then had cars swerving too close in front of us and watched the way our car braked to get back to a safe distance.

All-in-all we enjoyed a fascinating few hours of instruction and practical testing and came away convinced that Subaru EyeSight will become a major safety feature in the not too distant future.

The Subaru EyeSight system is now in its final stages of development and won't be available in any cars in Australia for at least a year. Indeed, it may not arrive until towards the end of 2011. Prices are yet to be determined.

Subaru’s engineers constantly reminded us, both during the technical briefings and the road testing, that EyeSight is there to assist the driver, not to take over driving duties.

There's a danger that stupid drivers may take their eyes off the road to send text messages, check on diaries and perform numerous other activities – and rely on safety electronics to keep them out of trouble. Hopefully this will never happen – but, human nature being what it is...