South Korea’s radar solutions provider bitsensing has launched an aftermarket advanced driver assistance system kit. Photo courtesy of bitsensing
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (UPI) — South Korean radar solution company bitsensing said Thursday it launched an aftermarket advanced driver assistance system kit that can be installed in existing commercial vehicles.
The company said that the kit, which is composed of radar sensors and cameras, would enhance safety and driving awareness by providing real-time alerts for collision risk and blind-spot hazards.
bitsensing is targeting commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks, which the firm claims are more prone to road accidents due to longer braking distances and larger blind spots compared to passenger cars.
Commercial vehicles account for 14% of all fatal road crashes in the European Union and 9% in the United States, according to data from transportation authorities in those regions.
The Korean company said that it has been conducting pilot tests of the new product since November in partnership with Koreawide Express Group, the country’s bus operator.
Under the collaboration, bitsensing’s driver assistance kits were installed across Koreawide’s fleet of intercity and city buses in real-world road environments, with plans to expand deployment to more than 500 buses.
“Commercial vehicles operate in some of the most demanding road environments, yet many fleets still lack access to modern driver warning systems,” bitsensing CEO Lee Jae-eun said in a statement.
“The ADAS kit was developed to close that gap, delivering a complete, system-level ADAS solution that can be deployed on existing vehicles without redesigning the vehicle platform,” he added.
Observers point out that aftermarket safety systems continue to gain traction as fleet operators seek cost-effective ways to upgrade older vehicles.
“Newer commercial vehicles tend to be equipped with advanced safety features, but many conventional vehicles lack such systems, making them more vulnerable to accidents,” Daelim College automotive professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI.
“To deal with such problems, aftermarket solutions are necessary to help commercial vehicles navigate increasingly complex urban driving environments more safely,” he said.
Kim said he expects an increasing number of ADAS kits to compete in the market, including LiDAR sensor-free solutions, such as bitsensing’s products that can be competitively priced.
Short for Light Detection and Ranging, LiDAR is a costly sensing technology that enables vehicles to perceive their surroundings in three dimensions with very high precision.