Ford to Roll Out Cars with Lane Keeping System from 2012

Taipei, Jan. 6, 2012 (CENS)--American automaker Ford recently claimed that it will roll out the Lane Keeping System (LKS) on a wide range of models over the next several years, with the new Fusion and Ford Explorer to have the feature in 2012.

The new Ford Fusion, to debut at the North American International Auto Show in January, is the first mainstream midsize sedan in North America to offer this technology.

The LKS uses a digital camera mounted on the windshield ahead of the rearview mirror to allow the Fusion to watch the road ahead to detect unintentional lane departure.

“Fusion's LKS combines a digital imaging sensor with our own state-of-the-art control software to process images and determine what level of warning or assistance to provide to the driver,” said Michael Kane, Ford development engineer.

The driver must turn on the Lane Keeping System. Once the vehicle speed is above 40 miles per hour (mph) and lane markers are clearly visible on the road, an icon that looks like a car between two lanes lights up green in the instrument cluster to indicate the system has been enabled. Ford's Lane Keeping System takes advantage of the electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) used in the new Fusion to provide a vibrating alert to the driver and then gently steer the car back into the lane if the driver doesn't respond.

When the system detects the car is approaching the edge of the lane without a turn signal activated, the lane marker in the icon turns yellow and the steering wheel vibrates to simulate driving over rumble strips. If the driver doesn't respond and continues to drift, the lane icon turns red and EPAS will nudge the steering and the vehicle back toward the center of the lane. If the car continues to drift, the vibration is added again along with the nudge. The driver can overcome assistance and vibration at any time by turning the steering wheel, accelerating or braking.