Guide to Adaptive Cruise Control

Cars are getting smarter by the day and depending on your perspective, this can be an excellent or scary prospect. Regardless of how you view the addition of this new tech to cars, one thing remains constant; all this is at par with humans' innate need to innovate. 

One crucial technology making its way into our cars is adaptive cruise control. As a driver or a car connoisseur, you're already familiar with traditional cruise control. The addition of the term "adaptive" alludes to something. Read on to discover more. 

What Exactly Is Adaptive Cruise Control?

Adaptive cruise control is among the many safety systems in cars whose sole purpose is to control the acceleration and braking of your vehicle. It helps vehicles keep a healthy distance from a car in front of it in traffic and keep the vehicle within the speed limit. In other words, adaptive cruise control can adjust your vehicle's speed without your input. 

ACC allows your car to match the speed of the vehicle ahead of you. If it slows down, yours also slows down. If the car in front moves to a different lane or accelerates to a higher speed, the adaptive cruise control increases your car's speed to the desired level.  Other terms that describe ACC include the following;

• Intelligent cruise control
• Radar cruise control
• Dynamic cruise control
• Active cruise control

How Does Adaptive Cruise Control Work?

Think of adaptive cruise control as a significant upgrade to the standard cruise control you're used to. ACC lets you set the required speed and distance from the vehicle in front of you in traffic. For ACC to work, it needs the addition of two essential sensors. These are;

• Speed: This sensor accelerates and decelerates your vehicle to match the speed you've set or the speed limit of the road you're traveling on. 
• Distance: The distance sensor checks for the gap between your vehicle and the one ahead and is responsible for telling your car to either speed up or slow down while maintaining a suitable distance to the vehicle ahead of you. 

By combining the data from these two sensors, your car's ACC module can adjust your vehicle's speed and maintain the appropriate gap between your car and the one in front. Those two sensors represent the lowest level of adaptive cruise control. A newer type relies on radar technology to determine the distance to the vehicle ahead, the direction of travel, and the relative speed of both vehicles to adjust your car's speed accordingly. 

Why Would You Use Adaptive Cruise Control?

The three primary scenarios in which ACC becomes a critical technology to have in your vehicle are;

• Eco Cruise Control: Fuel economy and savings are vital to keeping any logistics business afloat. ACC enables your drivers to set a speed that requires minimum energy consumption, based on the terrain, length of the journey, and other factors.
• Stop and Go Traffic: Sitting in traffic can be energy-sapping for drivers. ACC can remove the mental load by stopping and moving the vehicle whenever necessary under minimal supervision.
• Speed Limit Awareness: ACC, when paired with other technologies such as automatic traffic signal recognition, can adjust vehicle speeds to match the speed limits of different road sections. 

Does ACC Seem an Interesting Project?

Then let us at Wilmar Inc help you make the most of your business using adaptive cruise control systems. We have a diverse range of services, from leasing to fleet selection, management, repair, and more. With our extensive catalog of services and experience, we can assist you to turn your logistics business into a profitable venture. Get in touch with us today to learn more.