In the past few years, the development of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been remarkable. The list of the technological safety features available in new passenger cars, particularly high-end models, is often long and can read as if it was pulled from the pages of science fiction. There may be Pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, Lane departure alert with steering assist and lane keep assist, Dynamic radar cruise control, Road sign assist, Predictive active suspension, Autonomous emergency braking, Lane tracing assist, Tyre pressure monitoring . . . the list goes on and on.

All these features are a positive for the car owner, designed as they are to help make driving safer and easier. To deliver this safety and driveability, ADAS systems rely on a series of sensors – such as Radar, Lidar, and cameras, amongst others – that are placed strategically around the vehicle. These must be aligned and calibrated precisely to ensure the vehicle’s ECU computer receives and interprets the correct information about the car and its surroundings.

Just as with any technology – be it mechanical, electrical or digital – the ADAS system on a car can falter if it is not maintained or repaired when something goes awry. If, for example, the vehicle is involved in an accident and the windscreen or other areas of the body that carry the sensors/cameras need to be replaced, a calibration will have to be performed. Even seemingly minor alterations – such as bull bar replacements or suspension modifications – will require the ADAS system be recalibrated.
So essential have these ADAS systems become that forward-thinking members of the automotive industry are establishing workshops that offer the now very necessary and specialised services to test, repair, maintain and calibrate them.

One such recently established business is Hi-Mech Automotive Services in Toowoomba, founded by industry veteran Craig Baills.

Also the owner of Highfields Mechanical Bosch Service Centre, Craig is well known for his advocacy for the independent workshop sector, not least through his position as a Board member of the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA), and opened Hi-Mech in September 2020. The new business offers general servicing, diesel tuning, diagnostics, 4×4 services, and roadworthy certificates as well as a suite of ADAS calibration and maintenance services.

Deciding to offer ADAS services – servicing that is, in effect, a new automotive discipline – came after much discussion and research, including of the ADAS calibration equipment available on the market and what requirements there were in creating a physical space suitable for the endeavour.

“The industry has been talking about ADAS for a while and, as that talk went on, the idea was born that we should be doing this,” said Craig. “The more we spoke and thought about it, so the idea slowly grew.

“We brought a bit of a group together to discuss this, and Bosch got involved and offered their ADAS equipment. We looked hard at all the equipment on the market – from Hella, Bosch, and Texa – and at what would suit our car parc best, and Bosch seemed to suit that well.”

There are a couple of types of calibrations that may need to be performed – static and dynamic. Dynamic calibration sees the vehicle taken out on the road to allow the system to look for specific targets – such as speed signs, white lines and other vehicles – and for it to be then adjusted back to OEM configuration.

A static calibration is performed on a stationary vehicle in the workshop and involves the use of targets upon which the vehicle’s sensors are trained. The calibration equipment then monitors how those sensors measure distance and how the image of that target is interpreted.

The equipment used to perform these calibrations make precise measurements and are highly sensitive, and for the work to be done correctly, said Craig, a workshop environment with enough space and appropriate lighting is required. Even a slight misalignment could lead to severe consequences.

“You need adequate space – 10m x 5m of floorspace in an ideal world – and good lighting too, as both do have an effect,” he said. “For us, we also invested in wheel alignment equipment to ensure that the vehicles’ cameras are in line and true with the thrust lines of the car.

“When we are setting up for a static calibration in the workshop, it’s down to the millimetre as far as positioning of the machine and the targets. If it is not right it won’t calibrate properly. I like to compare it to the idea that if you’re going to the moon and you’re off by one degree you’re going to miss by miles. It is no different with the radar and cameras on a car. And that’s the point of the calibration – to ensure the cameras and radar are in sync with the thrust line of the car.”

All in all, ADAS calibration is an important, growing and rather specialised area for the automotive industry to consider and establishing Hi-Mech, said Craig, required not only an investigation of the available equipment and potential facilities, but a commitment to training, and major investment in time and money.

“Each manufacturer has their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “Bosch and Hella, for instance, are deeply involved in OEM supply, but when it comes to a make of vehicle for which they haven’t supplied their system, they might struggle. The manufacturers are doing background work all the time to keep updating what they can access, and we have been fortunate with Bosch in that we haven’t needed to turn anyone away. However, like scan tools, not one machine does everything. Eventually, we will end up with another ADAS unit of some description.

“We work hard in training in all areas and knowing ADAS was coming meant we knew it was something we had to commit to,” he added. “You do have to go looking for those training opportunities, because there is not a lot out there yet. The equipment suppliers do their own training and Bosch also do specific training on how the ADAS systems work and what they do, which is great.

“A lot of it comes down to experience, understanding ADAS and understanding what the system needs to be calibrated. If you can get your head around that, it makes it easier to set up what is required.”

As the understanding of the need for ADAS calibration filters through the industry and to the consumer, the development of this relatively new sector will take shape. It may, said Craig, become a sector in which a few businesses specialise and which other areas of automotive which definitively need access to such a service – such as crash repair and the 4WD sector – use when required.

“I don’t think it is going to be for everybody,” said Craig. “Every workshop should have a scan tool but, as far as ADAS goes, it is a big investment and a specialised area. You look at crash repairers, windscreen repairers and the 4WD industry, and those areas do need to access ADAS calibrations. However, do each of those shops need to invest in ADAS equipment? Probably not, because the outlay is huge.

“For us, we have put ourselves in a ‘hub’ area where we can service those groups, and I think that is probably the idea – that every major centre have some workshops that offers those services.”

Acknowledging that the automotive industry is on a course of incredible technological advancement, and recognising that the industry and community will need businesses able to service and maintain that technology has seen Hi-Mech Automotive have a successful first few weeks since its launch. And in 2020 – a year of extraordinary challenges and uncertainty – establishing a new business was a brave move.

“We all went through the same drama in March and April when COVID hit, and sitting down in March trying to predict where we would be today – well, we missed by a mile,” said Craig. “We had no idea. No one did.

“Once we got April out of the way, things began to build and return to normal for us, but to jump in and start another business in amongst all of that – there was probably a certain element of insanity there! But we saw the opportunity and sometimes you just have to jump on it and do it.”

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (November 2020)

11 November 2020