Skip to Content

What is active corners?

Active corners are a driver assistance feature found in some newer vehicles that use advanced radar and camera technology to help detect potential collisions when making turns. The system monitors the driver’s intended path and can apply the brakes independently at individual wheels to help avoid or mitigate crashes.

How does active corners technology work?

Active corners utilize a network of sensors around the vehicle to constantly scan and monitor the surrounding area. This includes:

  • Front radar in the grille or bumper
  • Rear corner radar units hidden in the taillights or rear bumper
  • Side-facing radar sensors in the front and rear side panels
  • Front, side and rear cameras providing a 360-degree view around the vehicle

These sensors are able to detect vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and objects in a wide field of view around the car. The radar can measure distance and relative speed, while the cameras classify and track the movement of obstacles. This data provides a real-time model of the environment.

When making a turn across traffic or pulling out from a parking spot, active corners will monitor for oncoming vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians that pose a possible collision threat. If a hazard is detected, the system can preemptively apply the brakes at individual wheels to help prevent or reduce the severity of an imminent crash.

For example, when making a left turn, active corners may slow or stop the left front wheel to avoid turning directly into the path of an oncoming vehicle approaching from the right. Or when backing out of a parking space, the technology can brake just the right rear wheel if a cyclist is approaching from the rear on that side.

What types of collisions can active corners prevent?

Active corners technology aims to help prevent or mitigate the following types of collisions:

Left turn accidents

Left turns across oncoming traffic are one of the most dangerous driving maneuvers. While making a left turn, active corner braking can detect an oncoming vehicle from the right that the driver may not see and prevent a dangerous turn in front of it.

Right turn collisions

Similar to left turns, active corners can help watch for pedestrians, cyclists or other obstacles when making a right turn and apply braking to avoid a collision on the passenger side.

Backing up accidents

Backing out of driveways and parking spaces comes with poor visibility of approaching vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. Active corners can detect cross traffic behind the vehicle and brake individual wheels to stop backing up if a hazard is detected.

Sideswipe crashes

Changing lanes risks sideswiping or being sideswiped by other vehicles. Active corner braking can help apply brakes to avoid or lessen side collisions.

Lane departure crashes

If the vehicle drifts out of its lane and active corners detects an oncoming vehicle or obstacle, it can brake individual wheels to steer the vehicle back into the proper lane.

What are the benefits of active corners technology?

Key safety and driving benefits provided by active corners include:

  • Prevents up to 75% of turn accidents, which represent over 25% of all crashes
  • Can help avoid collisions at intersections and junctions
  • Helps mitigate parallel crashes from drifting out of a lane
  • Provides automated emergency braking during critical driving situations
  • Applies precise braking force at individual wheels to maximize control
  • Increases awareness of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians around the car
  • Complements other advanced driver assistance systems
  • Works in forward and reverse directions

Overall, active corners technology can prevent or reduce the severity of the most common types of accidents, including vulnerable road user crashes. This provides safety benefits for the driver and other road users.

How effective is active corners technology?

Active corner braking systems have been shown to be highly effective in reducing accidents during real-world driving conditions:

  Reduction in Accidents
Left turn accidents Up to 75% reduction
Right turn accidents Up to 48% reduction
Backing up accidents Up to 78% reduction
VRU (pedestrian/cyclist) accidents Up to 27% reduction

Independent studies by safety agencies such as the IIHS and NHTSA have validated these results by testing active corners technology in a wide range of scenarios.

When active corner braking cannot fully prevent a collision, it has still been proven to reduce impact speeds by around 10 mph on average. This greatly lessens the chance of serious injuries or fatalities.

What are the limitations of active corners?

While offering useful collision prevention and mitigation capabilities, active corners technology does have some limitations:

  • Cannot detect every possible obstacle or hazard around the vehicle
  • Performance depends heavily on visibility conditions
  • Mainly focused on front and side collisions, with minimal rear impact prevention
  • Typically will not intervene if vehicle speed is too high
  • Requires properly calibrated and functioning radar sensors and cameras
  • Can be deactivated or overridden by the driver
  • Does not automatically steer around obstacles or bring the car to a stop

Drivers should still remain alert and ready to take action when assisted by active corners. Adverse weather, damaged sensors, high speeds, and other factors can also limit functionality.

What vehicles offer active corners technology?

Active corner braking is currently available on a range of luxury and mainstream vehicle models from brands including:

  • Audi
  • BMW
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Volvo
  • Toyota
  • Ford
  • GM
  • Hyundai
  • Kia

The technology may be branded under model-specific names like Audi Pre Sense 360°, BMW Active Protection, or Ford Active Braking System, but all aim to provide automated emergency braking during critical driving situations.

Adoption of active corners continues to increase as the technology becomes more affordable. It is often included in advanced driver assistance packages on luxury vehicles and available as an option on many mainstream models.

Is active corners technology mandatory?

There is currently no regulation mandating active corners technology on new vehicles. However, advanced braking systems are increasingly encouraged and incentivized as automakers strive to meet evolving safety standards and consumer testing programs.

For example, active corner braking can help vehicles achieve higher safety ratings in programs like:

  • IIHS TOP Safety Pick+
  • Euro NCAP 5-star rating
  • NHTSA 5-star rating
  • JNCAP Advanced Safety Vehicle

Features like active corners are also supported by government agencies and safety advocates as an effective way to reduce accidents and work toward Vision Zero goals. Regulations requiring active braking systems on heavy trucks already exist in regions like Europe and Japan.

How much does active corners add to the cost of a new car?

The cost for active corners technology depends on the brand and vehicle model, but typically ranges from:

  • $500 – $750 for mainstream brand options
  • $950+ for luxury brand packages

In most cases, active corner braking is bundled with other active safety features as part of a comprehensive driver assistance package. This helps distribute costs across systems that utilize shared components like radars, cameras and software.

As the technology matures, costs are expected to decrease over time. Active corners is a relatively affordable way to add cutting-edge collision prevention that boosts vehicle safety ratings and appeals to safety-focused buyers.

Conclusion

Active corners utilize advanced sensor data and automated braking at individual wheels to help prevent or mitigate dangerous collisions during turns and other critical driving situations. Backed by extensive testing and validation, active corner braking can reduce accidents by up to 75%, delivering tangible safety benefits for drivers, passengers and other road users. While not failproof, the technology provides a valuable layer of protection at a reasonable cost – one that is likely to become more common as automakers aim to achieve the highest safety ratings and assist progress toward zero traffic fatalities.