First-generation EyeSight system, as viewed from inside the vehicle.
Subaru made mild waves last year when it announced it would offer a relatively low-cost suite of driver-assistance technologies dubbed EyeSight in the 2013 Legacy and Outback (the kit later expanded to the 2014 Forester‘s option sheet). The stereoscopic camera–based system enabled adaptive cruise control, pre-collision automatic braking, collision warning, and lane-departure warning, but its operating range was fairly limited compared to the radar- and sonar-based systems used by pricier luxury brands. Now, Subaru’s back with the second-generation EyeSight system, and it’s improved on the original’s capability while adding more functions.
For those not familiar with Subie’s stereoscopic camera setup, it works like this: a pair of forward-facing cameras mounted at each side of the rearview mirror “see” what’s in front of the car. By angling the cameras relative to one another and stitching their feeds together, the system’s brain gains a rudimentary form of depth perception, and thus object recognition. For its second act, EyeSight has inherited the ability to see color. Before, the system’s “eyes” saw the world in black-and-white dog vision; with color, the setup’s ability to discern its surroundings is boosted by a claimed 40-percent increase in viewing angle and distance.
This enhancement is critical, because one of EyeSight’s key limitations compared to a conventional radar-based system is its viewing distance and reaction quality. Stereoscopic cameras can’t see as far as radar or process what they’re seeing as quickly. Adding color allows Subaru to up EyeSight’s operating speeds, enabling automatic pre-collision braking from 31 mph and pre-collision brake assist (which aids the driver’s braking in emergency scenarios) from 43 mph—both thresholds are 12 mph faster than before.
Cleverly, Subaru has extorted EyeSight’s ability to “see” color to enable brake-light and traffic-signal recognition. This info is looped into the adaptive cruise-control function, meaning if EyeSight sees brake lights or red lights ahead, it can trigger automatic braking sooner. Just as the first-gen system could cut throttle if the driver attempted to accelerate from a stop with an object in the way, the second-gen version can do the same, but adds the ability to do so in reverse.
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Finally, EyeSight’s new features include an Active Lane Keep System, which can actively steer the vehicle to keep it within a lane. Subaru’s press release—as translated from Japanese—extolls Lane Keep’s ability to “further reduce the burden on the driver.” We wouldn’t jump the gun so quickly if we were Subaru; color or otherwise, EyeSight’s cameras are still rendered partially or totally useless in severe weather or if the windshield gets dirty. But we still applaud the company for finding a way to bring luxury-car safety tech to the masses.
EyeSight currently can be had for as little as $2740 bundled in a package on Legacy and Outback Premium models (total prices, EyeSight included: $26,830 and $30,360) and $2400 on the Forester 2.5i Touring (for an out-the-door price of $30,820). The new EyeSight setup goes on sale in Japan next year, and while Subaru hasn’t outlined plans—or feature allocation—for the U.S. yet, we expect it will arrive here shortly thereafter.
Source: CarAndDriver
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