Development of a Lane-Keeping Support System

This paper describes a lane-keeping support system that has been developed and implemented in a production model. This system uses a CCD camera unit to recognize white lane markers on the road ahead and to calculate the host vehicle's lateral displacement from the center of its lane. An electronic control unit calculates the amount of steering torque needed to keep the vehicle in the center and sends a signal to a steering actuator that steers the front wheels. The electronic control unit has been designed on the basis of analyses of vehicle behavior and drivers' steering behavior. A general outline of the system is presented along with the results of driving simulations and actual driving tests. The results of evaluations conducted on a proving ground course and with a driving simulator have confirmed that this system is effective in reducing the driver's workload.