TRW Automotive plans to launch its newest video camera sensor—the S-Cam 3—in China in early 2016. The technology will be introduced on several vehicles in the Chinese market, and will be produced locally at TRW's electronics manufacturing facility in Anting, Shanghai.

The S-Cam 3 has six times the processing power of the current generation camera and will be launched in early 2016. Source: TRW“The market is swiftly following the active safety trend evident in North America and Europe," says Peter Lake, executive vice president, sales and business development for TRW. “This will be a turning point in the Chinese industry and safety will become more important than ever before."

China New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) also plans to upgrade its five-star requirements. Starting in 2018, they will feature active safety and collision prevention assessments. In that transition, TRW says S-Cam 3 will be a key technology.

The sensor has six times the processing power of the current generation camera and will provide a higher level of sensing performance as well as several advanced safety functions.

The S-Cam 3 is one of the environmental sensors in TRW's driver assist systems portfolio, which is used to help support accident migration and prevention. When combined with braking systems, it can enable adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking as a stand-alone sensor. In addition, it gives partially-automated driving function a platform to use when combined with other environmental sensors, chassis controllers and actuators.

“We anticipate exponential growth in driver assist sensors over the next decade – both in China and other regions of the world," Lake says.