9 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems ( ADAS )

This chapter is focused on a detailed examination of the sense of touch (or haptics) as a promising technology for enhancing Driver Assistance Systems, starting with an overview of the state of the art and emerging Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. Other research prospects, such as context-aware services [312] or the utilization of the two sensory modalities smell and taste are left unaccounted in this work. Driving a vehicle has changed relatively little since the first cars appeared on the road, but with rapid advances in In-Vehicle Information Systems and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems this task will now be transformed (see Fig. 9.2 for an overview ADAS available today). One of the major reasons for the introduction of these driver-support systems is to cope with the various vehicle handling risks, originating from the larger number of cars on the streets, the complex design and layout of roads, a stressful life style, etc. (see Fig. 9.1 for a rough classification of driver risks).