Sensata’s Sensors Aid Blind Spot Monitoring for Tractor-Trailers

December 1, 2024

John Kendall

Three adjustable areas of interest allow the STA79 sensor to be configured with a center zone matching the length of the vehicle and front and rear zones independently set for unique requirements. (Sensata)

Sensata Technologies’ booth at this year’s IAA Transportation tradeshow included two of the company’s Precor radar sensors. The PreView STA79 is a heavy-duty vehicle side-monitoring system launched in May 2024 and designed to comply with Europe-wide blind spot monitoring legislation introduced in June 2024. The PreView Sentry 79 is a front- and rear-monitoring system. Both systems operate on the 79-GHz band as the nomenclature suggests.

PreView STA79 can cover up to three vehicle zones: a configurable center zone, which can monitor the length of the vehicle, and two further zones that can be independently set to align with individual customer needs. The system offers a 180-degree field of view to eliminate blind spots along the vehicle sides and a built-in measurement unit that will increase the alert level when turning toward an object even when the turn indicator is not used. The system also features trailer mitigation to reduce false positive alerts on the trailer when turning. The system is UN 151 compliant.

PreView STA79 radar includes a built-in inertial measurement unit (IMU) to increase the alert level when turning into an object even when the turn signal is not used. (Sensata)

The system’s side turn assist operation will alert the driver to moving vulnerable road users at speeds up to 19 mph (30 km/h), while ignoring stationary objects such as parked cars and street signs. At greater speeds, the system is optimized for blind spot collision mitigation during lane changes and merging. Again, the system prioritizes alerts on moving vehicles, ignoring stationary objects.

The Preview Sentry 79 sensor features a fully configurable detection zone and can detect objects at distances up to 40 meters (131 ft). The width of the detection zone can be adjusted to suit different vehicle types. The system can detect objects in adverse weather such as rain, fog and snow and is UN 159 compliant.

Imaging radar on the rise

Sensata product manager for radar Jamen McDermott discussed some up-and-coming technologies with SAE Media. “Of course, we have lidar when we are talking about higher levels of autonomy, when we are trying to define the entire picture around us – basically, building a topographical map of the surrounding environment,” McDermott said. “Imaging radar is another technology that we’re seeing more of and there are a lot of start-ups in imaging radar. It takes a resolution that is closer to lidar.”

He noted that imaging radar incorporates some of the positives from radar that lidar falls short on. “Lidar struggles in certain environmental conditions such as rain, fog and snow,” he said. “There are quite a few things that impact lidar that don’t impact imaging radar, or radar in general in the same way, so we’re starting to see that pick up in the market. It’s still fresh, still new and needs to be tested, so there’s a lot to be done with imaging radar.”

PreView Sentry 79 front and rear radar can detect and track up to 64 objects simultaneously. (Sensata)

Logically, combining these systems so that the shortcomings of one system can be covered by the strengths of another would offer a good developmental direction, McDermott said. “If you look at fusion, it’s about the pros and cons of all those technologies and bringing them together to pick up where the other one leaves off, so that you can further the calculations and try to predict accidents better and work better in those harsh environmental conditions,” he explained. “Then in the end have, if it’s warning the operator of an object, fewer false positive detections, so that when the operator is warned, it is really something that they should be warned about.”

For autonomous vehicle functions, accuracy becomes even more critical. “Once the control has been taken from the input sensors, it [needs to be] accurate because you don’t want the brakes to slam on for no good reason,” McDermott said.