Here at TOPDON UK, we realise that ADAS is rapidly becoming a "Normal" part of any Garage environment, whether your business is based around Accident Repair, General Maintenance and repair all the way through to Windscreen repair/replacement and Tyre replacement and wheel alignment.

Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS) appear on most modern vehicles now in many different forms. This can be Autonomous Braking to reduce the likelihood of injury in the immediate sensing of a crash scenario, Lane Keeping assistance (Driver warning and auto-steer) and others such as Adaptive Cruise Control systems which automatically reduce or increase cruise control limits using Radar, Lidar and camera systems.

Different systems will utilise different hardware in order to operate successfully, but some will use more than one system fitted to a vehicle, communicating between themselves in order to achieve the desired result. Safer Vehicles.

These systems are of course becoming more and more intuitive and advanced by the day, and vehicle repairers are becoming expected to offer these services to repair vehicles correctly and safely according to standards set by safety standards authorities.

Proof of calibrations of affected systems is now a standard requirement for vehicles repaired from accident damage by Insurers.

The importance of a properly calibrated ADAS system when fitted to a vehicle could be life or death.

For instance, an uncalibrated Autonomous Braking front radar on a vehicle could intervene with Emergency Braking when completely unnecessary, potentially posing risks to not only the driver of the vehicle, but also all other vehicles around them. Or on the other hand, it may not operate at all when it is indeed required, failing to avoid a crash situation as intended by the manufacturer.

This kind of scenario can be explained briefly using this Theoretical example.

The Front Radar of a vehicle is 2 degrees, to the left, out of calibration spec.

• At 5M, the Radar is looking 17.45cm to the left of the normal operation area.

• At 10M, the Radar is looking 34.9cm to the left of the normal operation area.

• At 25M, the Radar is looking 87.27cm to the left of the normal operation area.

• At 50M, the Radar is looking 1.75m to the left of the normal operation area.

• At 100M, the Radar is looking a whopping 3.49m to the left of its normal operation area.

At motorway speeds, this "Small" 2 Degree measurement will be the difference of whether your vehicle sees what is coming or not.

This same example can be used with other ADAS systems, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot warning, and even Autonomous Parking systems.

There are of course many computers within the vehicle in control of these systems, and are designed to look for discrepancies within them to give the driver fair warning that a system is out of calibration, more often than not automatically disabling the system in order to avoid these unwanted outcomes.

Although these systems are designed to improve the safety of newer vehicles and reduce the risks of driving, it is important to remember that the driver of the vehicle will always be ultimately liable and responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle.

There are many things that can cause the need for a calibration of ADAS equipment on a vehicle that are often overlooked, usually due to lack of knowledge regarding the way these systems operate.

For instance, when performing a wheel alignment on a vehicle, if there are adjustments made to the suspension system, more often than not, this directly affects the ADAS systems fitted. For Instance, by adjusting the rear suspension on a vehicle fitted with Front Assistance modules, this can change the thrust angle of the vehicle. This by most manufacturer repair methods, would then require calibration of the affected systems.

Prices that are charged for ADAS Calibration can vary depending where you go and what is involved specifically with the system fitted to the vehicle.

The TOPDON Phoenix Mobile ADAS equipment has been introduced to offer an easy to use, small to store/transport and more affordable option for business owners to allow a smaller investment cost whilst retaining a high-quality level of workmanship, correct and safe procedure adherence.

There is a great opportunity for many businesses to add ADAS calibration to their services and many are now looking into this. It is imperative in our opinion, to ensure the technicians using this equipment are of course trained to an IMI standard.

Visit www.topdondiagnostics.co.uk/phoenix-mobile-adas

IMI Accreditation courses and trainers can be located here: https://tide.theimi.org.uk/learn/qualifications/610_1338_9