ATLANTA, Ga. – Wabco unveiled its OnLaneAssist Advanced Driver Assistance System at the first-ever North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show today.

The unveiling comes shortly after the company’s announcement that it purchased R.H. Sheppard, a supplier of steering technologies for commercial vehicles.

Wabco says OnLaneAssist helps improve commercial vehicle safety as it works to avoid collisions related to accidental lane departures. The new system uses steering technology and front-facing cameras to avoid lane departures in an active way. 

The system can detect lane marking on the roadways and is consistently monitoring the vehicle’s position relative to them. It can detect the difference between an intentional lane change and lane drifting, Wabco said. So, if a truck begins to drift out of its lane, OnLaneAssist will kick in and automatically steer the vehicle back into its own lane to avoid collisions and injuries.

It is a step up from warning-only systems, as it provides active intervention, Wabco said.

“Preventing lane departures through this active steering capability, we will save quite a few more accidents and lives,” Jacques Esculier, chairman and CEO of Wabco said at the announcement in Atlanta today.

OnLaneAssist is the company’s first Advanced Driver Assistance System based on Sheppard’s steering technology integrated with Nexteer’s steering automation technology.

“OnLaneAssist represents another important milestone on the commercial vehicle industry’s roadmap towards autonomous driving,” added Jorge Solis, Wabco president, truck, bus and car Original Equipment Manufacturers Division. “This advancement demonstrates Wabco’s capability to address the challenges of lateral vehicle dynamics control – furthering progress on the path to self-driving commercial vehicles.”

The company also said its popular OnGuard system would be getting an upgrade by 2020. It will be called the OnGuardMax and will have the ability to stop the vehicle when it senses stationary obstacles in its direct path on highways.

According to Esculier, it will be equipped with “the best sensors and cameras the industry has to offer.”

To learn more, you can visit Wabco’s booth (#4252) at the NACV Show until September 28.