Fifteen years of research at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has led to an innovative technology that can significantly reduce the number of casualties among vulnerable road users in truck blind-spot accidents.
Road safety must be tackled on several fronts simultaneously: good road infrastructure, awareness campaigns and the application of intelligent technology in vehicles.
In the latter area, eXia, a spin-off from the VUB, recently made a startling breakthrough with its Active Sideguard. It is an innovation that uses extremely weak low-frequency electric fields to give truck drivers timely and accurate warnings when pedestrians, cyclists or scooter riders are in their blind spots. Active Sideguard clearly outperforms most existing radar sensors due to its optimal spatial understanding, greater selectivity, weather resistance and robustness. The system, for example, detects all movement between kerb and road level, and snow or rain are not an obstacle as water and dirt are effectively repelled. It can be fitted on all freight vehicles.
When Active Sideguard transmits a visual and audible signal, the trucker in his cab can be certain it is not a false alarm. His heightened vigilance combined with this technology may have saved a life.
