Bendix ABS Gets Smarter

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems has launched ABS with Smart ATC, an automatic traction control feature that can distinguish and respond to situations like accelerating uphill and driving into a curve.

Like standard ATC, wheel-speed sensors instantly detect a spinning wheel, sending a signal to the electronic control unit to adjust the amount of power to the wheels through engine speed and selective braking. However, with Smart ATC, if the ECU detects that the vehicle is travelling in a straight line and the driver is trying to accelerate — in an up-hill situation, for example — it reduces the braking effect, giving more accelerator control back to the driver as he ascends the hill. Conversely, if a wheel slips while the vehicle is accelerating into a curve, Smart ATC provides the opposite reaction — forcing the vehicle to slow to a safe speed as it approaches the curve.