ADAS Under the Hood: Brake Assist

If you’ve ever had that heart-stopping experience of needing to slam on your brakes and hoping beyond hope that you hit them hard and fast enough, you understand the importance of brake assist systems. 

A recent study from the National Highway Safety Administration found that recognition errors by drivers caused 41% of car accidents, and performance errors caused 11%. Failing to recognize the need to brake or to successfully brake in time falls contributes to both statistics.

Modern brake assist systems which are an essential part of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) can significantly reduce potential collisions. 

In this guide, you’ll learn how each type of brake assist and autonomous emergency braking systems work, how they interact with different ADAS features, and common ADAS calibrations you may need to make on your clients cars.  

How Do Brake Assist Systems Work?

Traditional brake assist systems (BAS) are designed to help drivers brake effectively in emergency situations. These systems can detect sudden pedal pressure when a driver slams on their brakes, and it enhances braking power to maximize the car’s stopping force. 

The sudden and significant pressure on the brakes is crucial for activating brake assist features, applying the brake’s pressure with full strength. Ideally, this will allow drivers to make quicker stops in urgent situations. 

The Two Different Brake Assist Systems 

There are two different types of brake assist systems: Hydraulic brake assist, and electronic brake assist. While both systems can provide additional braking power to shorten stopping distance in emergent situations, there are a few key differences: 

• Hydraulic brake assist systems use hydraulic pressure to detect sudden brake pedal pressure to automatically apply braking force.
• Electronic brake systems use smart sensors to detect rapid pedal input; when detected, it activates an electronic control system to apply enhanced braking power.

Though both systems are effective at accelerating braking in emergency stops after detecting driver input, electronic systems often yield faster response times. 

How Brake Assist Works With Other ADAS Features 

An assisted braking system is one of many ADAS features that can keep drivers safe, and it works alongside other features to provide a much safer experience for everyone on the road. 

Examples include:

• Forward collision sequences use sensors to calculate a crash risk, and may warn you of a potential oncoming collision so that you can brake; if you don’t use enough pressure, the car will apply brake assist.
• If you take too long to apply the brake yourself, autonomous emergency braking may activate to prevent or reduce the severity of a crash. 
• Adaptive cruise control can keep your car at a safe distance from the one in front of it, ideally reducing the need for emergency braking altogether. 
• Blind-spot monitoring helps drivers change lines safely; it can prevent them from needing to slam on their brakes if they accelerate to merge only to realize there is someone in their blind spot. 

AEB vs Brake Assist

Brake assist systems respond to driver input, accelerating braking power when there’s sudden and severe pressure applied to the pedal. It’s a reactive system that relies on initial driver response to engage. 

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), on the other hand, is a more advanced ADAS braking solution that does not rely on driver input. Instead, this system actively monitors the environment around the car using a complex network of processing systems, radars, cameras, and sensors to assess potential collisions and can engage brakes without driver input. 

When the sensors detect an imminent collision using the same systems that also create forward collision warnings, the system applies the brakes automatically even if the driver hasn’t detected a potential threat themselves. 

Current data shows that AEB systems can result in a 25-50% reduction in rear-end collisions. These systems are so effective that the NHTSA is requiring that all new vehicles include AEB as a standard safety feature. It’s estimated that this will save at least 360 lives per year, and can prevent up to 24,000 injuries annually. 

While AEB systems are a highly effective safety feature and an important component of ADAS systems they also require unique calibrations and repair processes. 

Common Calibrations Needed for Brake Assist and AEB Systems

Brake assist systems calibrations involve adjusting any sensors and components within a vehicle’s BAS to make sure it works as it should. 

Any BAS that relies on sensors including for both basic BAS and AEB will require calibration if any collisions, auto work, or repairs occur that may impact those sensors and systems. When you replace a client's brake pads, for example, it’s essential to make sure that the sensors in their electronic BAS system are responding properly to enhance braking as needed. 

Similarly, if the car that's been brought into the shop has AEB, there are sensors and cameras throughout the car that can be impacted. You can look for a windshield replacement, for example, which requires an expert installation and calibration with someone who is familiar with ADAS systems

If the ride height or tire size has been changed, for example, that can impact sensors and camera systems. Luckily, with a tool like Revv, we can help you identify all ADAS calibrations needed for a job with the correct documentation so even the most complex calibration can be done with ease. 

Most ADAS repair shops will use two types of calibration. Static calibration happens in a controlled environment to ensure that your sensors are aligned properly. Dynamic calibration, however, occurs while driving so sensors can recalibrate in real-world conditions.

Brake Assist Calibration Identification With Revv

ADAS calibration and especially BAS calibration is highly technical and it’s becoming more prevalent and important. With driver safety depending on accurate calibration, it’s crucial to make sure that your repair and calibration services can ensure that all ADAS systems are aligned correctly and working as they should.

Revv’s BAS calibration identification system provides the following solutions for ADAS repair shops:

• AI-powered calibration identification, decoding VINs to reveal equipped ADAS features and OEM calibrations.
• Data for an extensive library of makes and models, starting from the year 2000.
• Automatically generate reports.
• Increase the number of ADAS calibrations you can offer, increasing the average billable amount per job by $1250+.

Want to learn more about how to offer comprehensive calibrations to your customers to make more and keep them safer? Book your free demo today. 

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