Commuting is no fun. But advanced driver assist systems like adaptive cruise control can take a lot of the stress out of the experience. By using an array of sensors built into the car, adaptive cruise control can match the speed of the car in front of you, meaning you don't need to constantly hit the gas and brake in highway traffic.
Some systems even allow the car to be brought to a complete halt and then resume automatically, making stop-and-go traffic considerably less frustrating. It might make you uneasy handing over some amount of control to the car, but we promise: use it once, and you'll never want to go back.
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is an available cruise control system for road vehicles that automatically adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead. As of 2019, it also called by 20 unique names that describe that basic functionality. This is also known as Dynamic cruise control.
Control is based on sensor information from on-board sensors. Such systems may use a radar or laser sensor or a camera setup allowing the vehicle to brake when it detects the car is approaching another vehicle ahead, then accelerate when traffic allows it to.
ACC technology is widely regarded as a key component of any future generations of intelligent cars. They impact driver safety and convenience as well as increasing capacity of roads by maintaining optimal separation between vehicles and reducing driver errors. Vehicles with autonomous cruise control are considered a Level 1 autonomous car, as defined by SAE International.When combined with another driver assist feature such lane centering then the vehicle is considered a Level 2 autonomous car.
Adaptive cruise control does not provide full autonomy: the system only provides some help to the driver, but does not drive the car by itself.
THE WORKING OF ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL :-
Adaptive cruise control is also called active cruise control, autonomous cruise control, intelligent cruise control, or radar cruise control. This is the case because distance is measured by a small radar unit behind the front grille or under the bumper. Some units employ a laser, while Subaru uses an optical system based on stereoscopic cameras. Regardless of the technology, ACC works day and night, but its abilities are hampered by heavy rain, fog, or snow.
ACC is a crucial part of the self-driving cars of the near future. On an autonomous driving car, ACC needs to track the car in front but also cars in adjacent lens in case a lane change becomes necessary.