RadarSense truck safety tech debuts in Brisbane

LSM Technologies’ RadarSense Australian-developed safety initiative could hardly have been announced at a more appropriate time, given the recent horrific school bus incident in Victoria. Rear-end collisions are the most commonly occurring two-vehicle incidents and can be catastrophic when the shunter is a heavy vehicle.

Autonomous emergency braking control that prevents or mitigates the effects of rear-end collisions is one of LSM Technologies’ key new products that were launched at the Brisbane Truck Show in May 2023.

LSM Technologies is a Brisbane-based electronics and engineering company that has specialised in safety equipment for trucks and plant machinery. While making some componentry in Australia, it imported many products and adapted them for locally available products and operating conditions.

With that background, LSM Technologies has now taken the significant step of manufacturing and packaging as much of this equipment as possible in Australia.

LSM RadarSense radar proximity detection is designed to mitigate or prevent collisions in situations where the driver has not reacted to a potential collision situation. Autonomous Emergency Braking is now fitted to many new trucks and is mandated for all heavy vehicles by ADR 97, which takes effect for new buses from November 2024 and new trucks from February 2025.

LSM said that its radar system is state of the art and has performance superior to that of most forward-facing radar units. It’s a compact device, measuring only 80mm x 60mm x 12mm and weighing just 150 grams. It operates on the latest 77GHz automotive frequency and is said to be highly vibration resistant, along with having IP69 – high-pressure water and dust – ingress protection.

RadarSense’s distance detection can be altered from 0.5 to 100 metres and the operating angle can also be adjusted. An override function allows the truck to get close to objects in controlled conditions, such as when picking up bins. Multiple sensors can be ‘daisy chained’ via cable or Bluetooth, to provide 360-degree detection.

RadarSense provides audible and visual driver alerts and AEB can be applied. Built-in GPS tracking reports speed and location, with integration of compulsory shut-off in ACMA-designated areas, such as military zones.

RadarSense is being offered to new truck makers and as a retrofit purchase for existing trucks, where fleet owners want to have uniformity across all their trucks.

One of LSM’s best known products was the BrakeSafe roll-away avoidance kit that prevents accidental runaways of trucks, buses and trailers. Accident statistics show that at least one such major incident occurs every day in Australia: most often caused when a driver leaves the wheel, after forgetting to set the parking brake.

LSM Technologies has now developed an Australian made system – LSM RollStop – that replaces the previous BrakeSafe product and also integrates with RadarSense, to activate AEB even when the vehicle isn’t moving.

RadarSense and RollStop are part of LSM’s integrated Sentinel VSS (Vehicle Safety System) that can connect and display other safety mitigation controls into one in-cabin display. The Sentinel VSS also integrates into the company’s fleet safety and tracking manager telematics that’s a tool for alerts, reports and analysis of events and compliance.

LSM said that its safety initiatives were partly in response to Australian Federal and State government ‘wish lists’ for improved heavy vehicle safety, including the NSW report, Safety Features and Technologies for Heavy Vehicles – May 2020 and Worksafe Queensland’s Safely Immobilising Heavy Vehicle and Trailer Campaign.