Jul. 09, 2025 –
We often hear modern vehicles described as “smartphones on wheels.” But perhaps a better analogy is a human. Just as we use our senses to understand and react to the world – to see, to hear, to touch, to feel – today’s vehicles depend on an array of sensors to navigate the world around them. Cameras, radars, lidar and ultrasonic sensors work together to power advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), enabling a safer driving experience and laying down the foundation for the future of autonomous vehicles.
We spoke to Sudipto Bose, GF’s Vice President of Automotive, to dig into how ADAS has transformed since its inception, the forces propelling innovation forward and how GlobalFoundries is innovating in partnership with customers and automotive leaders to support the future of safe driving.
Tell us about how ADAS has evolved over the years. What did it look like when it first began, and what does it look like now?
These systems’ smart safety features in your vehicle – known as ADAS – have come a long way over the past two decades. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was one of the early pioneers of ADAS, debuting the Distronic adaptive cruise control feature back in 1999. This version of cruise control relied strictly on radar to maintain a certain distance from the car in front of it. Fast forward to today, modern ADAS features are tapping into cameras, lidar and ultrasonic sensors to create a more comprehensive view of the driving environment.
What began as a system to help with braking or maintaining distance is now evolving into something much more advanced. Now, ADAS features are taking the steering wheel both literally and figuratively, progressing to systems capable of controlling the vehicle with little human intervention. Increasingly, ADAS is not just supporting drivers, but beginning to replace them – signaling a clear shift toward fully autonomous driving.
You mentioned cruise control moving beyond radar — what kinds of sensors are key to ADAS today, and what role does each one play?
“Your ADAS is only as good as your sensors.” A phrase you hear often in my industry, but there is plenty of truth behind it. At GF, we play an essential role in enabling the sensing technologies that power ADAS. These sensors are the driving force behind real-time decisions made by cars, informed by the collection and analysis of data that helps the vehicle interpret its surroundings.