Safety and comfort automated. The new Touareg is one of the safest and most comfortable cars in the world. The broad range of its driver assist system contributes to this. The “Traffic Jam Assist including Roadwork Lane Assist” allows for partly automated driving functions. It is also the first time that “Night Vision” is on board a Volkswagen. The driver benefits from the interaction of the assist systems in the Touareg more than ever. As a result, comfort and safety reach a new level. An overview of the driver assist systems:
Driving dynamics and warnings
- “Traffic Jam Assist including Roadwork Lane Assist” (partly automated driving up to 60 km/h)
- “Front Assist with City Emergency Braking System and Pedestrian Monitoring”
- “Intersection Assist” (warning of cross traffic from front)
- “Lane Assist” (lane departure warning system)
- “Side Assist” (Lane Change and Turn-off Assist)“
Parking and manoeuvring
- “Trailer Assist” (trailer manoeuvring system)
- “Park Assist” (partly automated driving in and out of parking space)
Safety
- “Emergency Assist” (emergency assist if driver fails)
- “Automatic Post-Collision Braking System” (automatic braking after accident)
- “Proactive occupant protection system” (conditioning of the safety system as well as closing of windows and panorama roof before a potential accident)
Information and display
- “Driver Alert System” (warning of fatigue)
- “Night Vision” (night vision system)
- “Rear View”“ (rear view camera)
- “Dynamic Road Sign Display” (showing road signs such as speed information and no overtaking)
- Windshield head-up display
New driver assist systems in detail
“Night Vision”. The new Touareg is the first Volkswagen available with a night vision system. “Night Vision”. A thermal image camera (infrared camera) registers infrared radiation coming from a living being. Any persons or animals detected are marked yellow or red, depending on the risk, in a black and white image. The image itself is transmitted to the “Digital Cockpit”. If “Night Vision”registers a risk, it actively warns the driver (via information in the “Digital Cockpit” and optional head-up display). At the same time the brakes and the brake assist system are preconditioned to provide the highest deceleration rate if required. Thanks to the new, interactive “IQ.Light – LED headlights”, people in a potential danger area are briefly flashed to make them more visible for the driver and as a warning. This spotlight is exclusively offered in conjunction with “Night Vision”. With the combination of “Night Vision” and “IQ.Light – LED matrix headlights”, dangerous situations can be recognised significantly earlier and alleviated.
“Front Cross Traffic Assist” The new “Front Cross Traffic Assist” is a system enhancement of the “Rear Traffic Alert” Today the “Rear Traffic Alert” already gives warnings in many Volkswagen vehicles when driving backwards out of a parking space in front of cars that approach at a 90° angle behind the reversing car – the classic situation when driving out of a parking space that is arranged at right angles to the road. The system is active via an emergency brake intervention if the driver does not respond himself when the risk is detected. The new “Front Cross Traffic Assist” of the Touareg now also warns of vehicles that approach the vehicle front end at intersections, exits or parking spaces. For this purpose, two radar sensors are integrated in the front bumper with an alignment of 55 degrees to the vehicle axis that monitor the side traffic. An emergency brake intervention also occurs here when a danger is detected and the driver does not respond in order to prevent an accident as far as technically possible or at least to reduce the severity of the accident.
“Proactive occupant protection system” The “proactive occupant protection system” was further developed for use in the new Touareg. It combines all pre-crash functions into an overall action concept and detects even more types of accidents. The basic function: If the proactive occupant protection system registers a potential accident situation, by introducing a brake hard by means of activated brake assist systems, the seat belts for the driver and passenger are automatically pre-tensioned and the electric seat functions are adjusted so that the best possible protection is achieved by the airbag and seat belt systems. If there is a highly critical unstable driving situation such as oversteering or understeering with ESC intervention, the side windows and panorama sliding roof are also closed (up to a remaining gap) This is because when the window panes and roofs are almost closed, the head and side airbags can provide optimum support and have the best possible effect. The automatic door lock and hazard warning lights are also activated. The “proactive occupant protection system now combines these pre-crash basic functions as outlined with the parameters “PreCrash Front”, “PreCrash Side”, “PreCrash Rear”, “Rollover” and “Multi-collision”. For this purpose, the system uses the existing sensors to detect possible accidents in advance as best as possible.
“Traffic Jam Assist including Roadwork Lane Assist”. The Touareg is being launched with the optional “Plus” driver assist package. This consists of the “Traffic Jam Assist including Roadwork Lane Assist”, the “Lane Assist” lane departure warning system (series in Europe), the Adaptive Cruise Control “ACC” (with stop-and-go function), “Emergency Assist” (controlled stop when the driver fails), the new “Front Cross Traffic Assist”, the “Side Assist” lane departure warning with “Rear Traffic Alert” as well as the “Proactive occupant protection system”. As a result of this fusion of the different systems, the “Traffic Jam Assist including Roadwork Lane Assist” automatically takes over the longitudinal and lateral control (brakes, acceleration, steering) at speeds up to 60 km/h when the steering wheel is released.
“Trailer Assist” “Trailer Assist” allows the driver to no longer have to think about the complex task of having to turn the steering wheel to the left so that trailer turns to the right (and vice versa) when manoeuvring in reverse with a car and trailer. The following components and assist systems are combined to make the innovative “Trailer Assist”:
- “Park Assist”. The Park Assist system uses ultrasound sensors in the area of the front and rear side as well as sensors in the wheels to measure the parking space. The control unit of “Park Assist” gives the steering system precise commands concerning how the car is to be directed into the parking space. If a trailer is coupled, the control unit of the “Park Assist” changes to the “Trailer Assist” mode and provides the steering system with appropriate information about which direction it must drive so that the trailer is perfectly directed.
- “Rear View”. As an electronic eye, the rear view camera system is focused on the tow bar of the trailer. It views the tow bar as a compass needle - in this way, the camera recognises the current angle of the trailer to the rear of the car. The control unit of “Park Assist” converts this angle into the current steering angle of the trailer.
- Mirror setting. The rotary knob of the electric adjustment of exterior mirrors on the driver’s side acts as a multi-function joystick with which the articulation angle of the trailer is determined.
- Display in the cockpit. The multi-function display between the speedometer and rev counter or ”Digital Cockpit” displays which articulation angle of the trailer is set when “Trailer Assist” is activated.
- Electromechanical power steering. The necessary steering angle can be automatically adjusted by the car just using the electromechanical power steering. Because unlike classic hydraulic power steering (as for the Touareg predecessor), it makes it possible to be controlled by the vehicle electronics and thus moved in a controlled manner.
- How to manoeuvre. To manoeuvre a car and trailer in reverse, the driver stops behind the bay for the space for the trailer and shifts to reverse gear. The system is activated by pressing the “Park Assist” button. Now the mirror adjustment switch is displayed on the display. The driver gets information on how he can set the desired steering angle. As soon as he moves the switch, a symbol with trailer appears on the display. Here the current articulation angle and the articulation angle of the trailer newly set by the driver is displayed. With the aid of the external mirror switch, the driver sets the desired direction of travel of his car and trailer. “Trailer Assist” takes over the specified steering angle. The car and trailer is automatically aligned using the control unit of “Park Assist” and using the electromechanical power steering. In the first manoeuvring phase, the driver selects the articulation angle (up to 75°) to turn in reverse in a certain direction or to drive on a curve. If the trailer is then in the direction of the destination, the driver finally simply draws the mirror adjustment switch back. The car and trailer now drive precisely in reverse in the trailer direction without having to still make manual corrections.
“Multicollision brake”. Around 25 percent of all accidents with personal injury are collisions that take place after the actual first accident. Such further collisions can be possibly prevented or their severity at least reduced using the standard “multicollision brake”. After a collision and as part of the limits of the system, the “multicollision brake” automatically introduces braking before the driver can respond. The second generation of “multicollision brake” is now used in the Touareg. Braking now takes place until standstill. At the same time the preventive safety measures of the “proactive occupant protection system” are activated. In addition the intensity of the stabilising brake hard are increased up to 1g.