What is Autonomous Emergency Braking?

The automobile industry keeps witnessing the development of various latest systems to ensure maximum rider safety. One such is Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), which has successfully reduced the rate of accidents.

Here is a complete guide on what an AEB system is, its types, working, importance and pros and cons.

An Autonomous Emergency Braking system is a sophisticated device that halts your vehicle if you cannot do so. It will monitor the road ahead continuously for pedestrians and other obstacles. Based on this data, it will take actions to prevent or at least reduce the impact of car crashes.

It can work autonomously, even without input from the vehicle's driver. So, even if you do not immediately notice sudden dangers, an AEB will do it for you. It can also amplify the force you apply to the brakes to stop your vehicle and avoid a collision instantly. 

Several types of AEB devices are available for vehicles based on their make and model. This offers them a safe ride on different types of roads.

Different types of Autonomous Emergency Braking devices found in vehicles are as follows:

• Forward AEB: In this type, the AEB system is connected with a Forward Collision Warning or FCW system. This provides a visible alert or sounds on their vehicle's dashboard to notify passengers regarding sudden dangers. However, if the driver fails to stop the vehicle, the AEB intervenes to take necessary actions to stop it immediately.

• Rear AEB: This type of AEB helps drivers to detect dangers while reversing their cars. More than a safety feature, the rear AEB is a convenience feature. Combined with the rear cross-traffic alert, it can easily detect other vehicles behind your car. As a result, you can easily reverse it even when stuck in a very tight parking spot. 

• Highway speed AEB: This type of AEB safeguards the drivers and passengers when driving the vehicle at high speed. They are equipped with more advanced sensors to detect dangers even when they are quite far away. Nonetheless, this system lacks the capability of stopping the vehicle. It can only slow it down to a certain extent to delay collisions.  

• City speed AEB: This type of braking system prevents collisions of your cars with other vehicles in regions of heavy traffic or parking lots. It can easily prevent slow-speed collisions on city roads. This safety feature is an efficient option when travelling on roads with bumpers. Also, it can effectively stop your vehicle on time and prevent serious accidents.

• AEB with pedestrian detection: In this type, the mechanics pair the AEB system with a forward-collision warning to detect pedestrians, large animals and cyclists. As soon as the FCW detects pedestrians, the AEB instantly stops the vehicle, saving your and the other person's life. 

Although the AEB systems differ with the type of road where the vehicle travels frequently, their working stays more or less for everyone.

Autonomous Emergency Braking in cars functions in the following manner:

• The cameras and sensors continuously monitor the distance between you and the obstacle ahead. 

• If there is a rapid decrease in the distance between the two, the sensors instantly identify it, generating a warning in the form of sounds or visuals.

• Even after these warning signs, you delay your reaction to pressing the brakes; the AEB takes full control of your vehicle.

• An Electronic Control Unit or ECU can detect if you are applying the brakes, and accordingly, the AEB system slows down or stops the car.

• Also, there is an Anti-lock Braking System that helps AEBs in slowing down or stopping the car.

The entry-level AEBs can effectively slow down your vehicle and eventually stop it when moving slowly. However, the more advanced AEBs can even slow down vehicles travelling at high speeds. Also, they can detect moving pedestrians, stationary objects, cyclists and cars.

Autonomous Emergency Braking accounts for being one of the most important parts of a car for many reasons.

Many reasons make AEBs an important component of vehicles. These include:

• AEB systems can easily avoid potential collisions or even reduce the impact of high-speed collisions.

• It can automatically detect obstacles and decide to slow down or stop the vehicle in case the visibility of the surrounding is too low.

• AEB, an automated system, has a quicker reaction time than humans. It can save your as well as a pedestrian's life.

• Autonomous Emergency Braking is an essential safety feature, especially during night drives when it can become difficult to locate the obstacles ahead. 

You might think an Autonomous Emergency Braking system is somewhat similar to an Anti-lock Braking System. However, several points of distinction make them different from each other.

There are several pros and cons associated with Automatic Emergency Braking. These are as follows:

Pros of Autonomous Emergency Braking System

The advantages of installing an Autonomous Emergency Braking system in cars include:

• It can prevent all possible collisions of your cars with other vehicles.

• It can take immediate action and save your life even when you are scared or confused about sudden dangers.

• When driving on highways, the AEB can drastically reduce a vehicle’s speed to reduce the intensity of collisions.

• It does not need human input; its fast reaction time can save you from tricky situations.

• Advanced Autonomous Emergency Braking systems can work at both high and low speeds so that cars can travel safely on both city and highway roads.

• Last but not least, AEB systems can increase the braking force to stop your car if you do not apply sufficient force to stop it.

Cons of Autonomous Emergency Braking System

Below are some of the disadvantages of the Autonomous Emergency Braking system:

• AEB is a costly system that can increase the costs of cars where they are installed.

• Installations of AEB can make drivers over-reliant, and they might not pay attention to the road ahead when driving.

• At times, the AEB system can jam breaks. For instance, AEB systems can instantly trigger the brakes when parking cars in very tight spots.

Knowing about the importance and advantages of an Autonomous Emergency Braking system will help you decide if you should purchase a vehicle having this system if you have the financial threshold. Furthermore, you can decide which type of AEB suits your driving needs and select your new car accordingly.