Infiniti announced on April 1 that later this fall a new Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system, which alerts drivers of an unintended movement out of their traffic lane, would be offered on 2005 models of Infiniti's FX crossover sport/utility vehicle — the first production application of LDW in North America. The system, which uses a camera, a speed sensor, an indicator and an audible warning buzzer, will also be available on the next-generation M45 performance luxury sedan, scheduled to go on sale in spring 2005 as a 2006 model. The LDW system is temporarily disabled by driver activation of the vehicle's turn signals, which informs the system's control unit of intended lane changes. The system also features a manual cancel switch, which allows the driver to turn it off when desired. The system automatically resets when the vehicle is restarted. The system recognizes lane markings through the use of a small camera mounted behind the rearview mirror. The camera's signal and the vehicle's speed are sent to the system's microprocessor. A judgment is then made as to whether the vehicle is moving out of the lane (depending on the distance and lateral velocity to the lane).

0 Comments