What is the difference between intelligent speed assistance and adaptive cruise control?

The evolution of autonomous and connected driving is accelerating, making vehicles safer, more efficient and easier to use.

Cars can now interact with their surroundings with precision, reducing the risk of accidents and increasing safety on the road.

Intelligent speed assistance (ISA) and adaptive cruise control (ACC) are two pivotal technologies enhancing driving safety. But while both support the same goal, they function differently.

Getting to know how they operate is key to using them effectively.

Safety over speed

ISA is a speed monitoring technology that alerts the driver if and when they are traveling above the designated speed limit.

ISA is a system designed to help drivers stay within legal speed limits. It works by monitoring the car's speed and comparing it to the speed limit of the road you're on. If the car goes over the speed limit, the system alerts the driver through sounds (acoustic warnings) or vibrations (haptic warnings). In some advanced systems, ISA can even take action to reduce the car's speed automatically to comply with the speed limit.

These "active" systems offer features such as customizable speed settings, gradual deceleration alerts and visual displays of speed limits, ensuring smoother transitions and safer driving. Active speed limiters are increasingly necessary, especially as speed-related crashes remain an important issue globally.

This makes ISA a crucial tool for preventing speeding violations and reducing the risk of accidents.

Pinpoint accuracy

ISA can rely solely on sensors and cameras to detect speed limits, but when paired with location technology, it gets a lot more accurate.

Speed limits aren't always clearly indicated on signs, and even if they are, they can sometimes be missing, damaged or obscured by weather conditions or vegetation. This means that systems such as HERE ISA Map which combine cameras, sensors and location data provide the most accuracy when determining the speed limit.

Then there are construction or school zones, where dynamic speed limits are often enforced. Different countries also have different speeding rules, which makes it crucial to incorporate various sources of information ISA can use to determine the speed limit with precision.

More specifically, ISA requires high-definition maps with detailed information about speed limits, road types and traffic regulations. By integrating this data with real-time inputs from onboard sensors and cameras, ISA systems can adjust to changes in speed limits in real-time, even when they aren't clearly indicated.

A safe distance

Adaptive cruise control supports the driving experience by focusing on dynamic vehicle spacing and maintaining a safe speed according to traffic conditions.

Unlike traditional cruise control, which locks the vehicle at a fixed speed, ACC uses sensors like radar or cameras to monitor the car ahead. This allows it to adjust the vehicle’s speed automatically, maintaining a safe following distance and reducing the need for the driver to constantly monitor the vehicle's speed.

In highway driving, allowing the car to slow down or accelerate based on traffic patterns reduces driver fatigue on long trips, adding another layer of safety and convenience to the driving experience.

Same but different

The primary difference between ISA and ACC lies in their core objectives. The two systems complement each other but cater to different aspects of safer and more efficient driving.

ISA is designed to ensure the vehicle adheres to speed limits, acting as a regulatory tool to prevent speeding while ACC focuses on traffic dynamics, ensuring a safe following distance and adjusting speed to match real-time traffic flow.

They also use different technologies to function.

ISA depends heavily on detailed and accurate mapping data while ACC relies more on immediate sensory inputs like radar and cameras. In both cases, location technology plays a key role in ensuring they provide accurate information that powers the systems and makes driving safer.

Location is information

Both ISA and ACC rely on advanced location technology to achieve accuracy and adaptability. For instance, location data adds context about potential slowdowns ahead due to curves or congestion, enabling the system to adjust speed based on traffic flows.

The role of location data in ISA is particularly significant, as it needs comprehensive mapping solutions that include traffic signs, road geometry and up-to-date speed limits to make driving safer and more efficient.

For adaptive cruise control, location technology enhances the predictive capability of the system.

A safe bet

So which technology makes driving safer?

The answer is more complicated than that - they serve different purposes.

ISA is designed to help vehicles stay within speed limits, ensuring compliance and reducing speed-related risks while adaptive cruise control focuses on maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles, offering comfort and reducing the likelihood of collisions in traffic.

The two systems complement each other to make driving safer, smoother and much more enjoyable, shaping a future where cars actively support safer road behavior.