Calibration Services
Calibration Masters, a division within K&K Glass, Inc., performs mobile calibration services for vehicles with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) software, following a growth in demand and also a request from our auto glass customers.
The department saw a 241% growth in ADAS calibration jobs completed this January as compared to January 2019.
Calibration is the process of realigning windshield cameras and sensors. When in alignment, these sensors help to input information and ultimately control a vehicle’s ADAS features (like the Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA) for example).
When replacing a windshield, there is a bracket mounted to the windshield that the camera sits in. This camera is removed from the bracket in the damaged windshield and clipped into the bracket of the new windshield. Even though the camera may not be disconnected from your safety system, it does not sit exactly as before. Because the camera sits in a different place and orientation now, the safety system in your vehicle now sees the lines on the road from a different perspective. With calibration, the safety system – through targeting and driving the vehicle – now “learns” where the lines on the road are again. This is a very precise measurement (in accordance with OEM standards), to ensure they work safely.
Each manufacturer has its own set of targets and procedure needed for calibration. At Calibration Masters, calibration technicians are trained to use our mobile AUTEL and Opti-Aim ADAS kits which cover virtually every make and model with ADAS. This enables our team to carry out calibrations at locations that are convenient for our customers.
John Gaines, managing director for the Calibration Masters team at K&K Glass said, “Safety Systems have come a long way in just a short time. But we are still only at the beginning. Every year each manufacturer is adding more features to the vehicles to help avoid accidents and collisions. By 2023, every vehicle made will have some sort of safety feature. In order to keep the vehicle operating as intended, if you replace your windshield, the ADAS systems must be calibrated.”
