TRW Announces Its Most Advanced Radar With AC1000 Family

FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hall 8, Stand F20, IAA Motor Show -- TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW) is highlighting how its next generation radar technology – the AC1000 – is delivering its most advanced set of functions to date, while supporting vehicle manufacturers in achieving five star New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings.

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TRW is working closely with a major European vehicle manufacturer to develop the AC1000 and anticipates that the technology will be ready for production in 2015.

Sascha Heinrichs-Bartscher, chief engineer, core development for Driver Assist Systems Engineering at TRW commented: "Our AC1000 represents an important step forward in TRW's radar development and we expect the sensor to become one of the key building blocks to enable more sophisticated safety features, as well as support semi-automated driving functionality."

"With 360 degree sensing capabilities and the option of dual mode functionality that covers both low speed applications and high speed applications in one unit, automatically switching between the two modes depending on vehicle speed, it can be used for a range of safety and convenience functions including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, collision mitigation braking, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, blind spot detection, lane change assist, cross traffic alert and more."

The AC1000 uses the 77GHz automotive radar band and is offered as two variants – one for front- facing applications and the other for side- and rear- sensing applications. The system utilizes the most advanced silicon germanium technology with multi-channel transmitter and receiver chips to deliver high performance sensing and signal processing capability. The technology allows a number of complex modules to be embedded on one chip, helping to enhance performance and minimize costs.   

Furthermore, the radar integrates the latest 'Digital Beam Forming' technology which allows multiple beams to be controlled simultaneously and therefore adapted according to the application which is relevant at the time. This can allow for an improved dynamic range as well as faster control of amplitude and phase. An additional benefit of the AC1000 is its unique modulation scheme which enables a wider field of view while maintaining a long range – making the technology relevant for a broad range of applications. 

Heinrichs-Bartscher concluded: "TRW has been in production with forward looking radar units for more than a decade and has taken its vast experience in this area to design a radar sensor which will be one of the most advanced and also affordable radars on the market. We believe it should be the sensor of choice due its excellent performance and its ability to assist our customers in achieving maximum NCAP points."

About TRW

With 2012 sales of $16.4 billion, TRW Automotive ranks among the world's leading automotive suppliers. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, USA, the Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in 25 countries and employs approximately 65,000 people worldwide.  TRW Automotive products include integrated vehicle control and driver assist systems, braking systems, steering systems, suspension systems, occupant safety systems (seat belts and airbags), electronics, engine components, fastening systems and aftermarket replacement parts and services.  All references to "TRW Automotive", "TRW" or the "Company" in this press release refer to TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated.  TRW Automotive news is available on the internet at www.trw.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are not statements of historical fact, but instead are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  All forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, including those set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (our "Form 10-K") and our Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 29 and June 28, 2013, such as: any developments related to antitrust investigations adversely affecting our financial condition, results, cash flows or reputation; the loss of any of our largest customers or the loss of a significant amount of their business materially adversely affecting us; economic conditions adversely affecting our business, results or the viability of our supply base; the unsuccessful implementation of our current expansion efforts adversely impacting our business or results; any shortage of supplies causing a production disruption for any customers or us; strengthening of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacting our results; risks associated with non-U.S. operations, including economic and political uncertainty in some regions, adversely affecting our business, results or financial condition; any inability to protect our intellectual property rights adversely affecting our business or our competitive position; commodity inflationary pressures adversely affecting our profitability or supply base; pricing pressures from our customers adversely affecting our profitability; costs of product liability, warranty and recall claims and efforts by customers to adversely alter contract terms and conditions concerning warranty and recall participation; costs  or adverse effects on our business, reputation and results from governmental regulations; costs or liabilities relating to environmental, health and safety regulations adversely affecting our results; work stoppages or other labor issues at our facilities or at the facilities of our customers or those in our supply chain adversely affecting our business or results; any disruption in our information technology systems adversely impacting our business and operations; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in our Form 10-K and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any update or revision to any of the forward-looking statements.      

SOURCE TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.