BoschLive

Frontal crashes account for nearly 2.3 million crashes a year in the United States, resulting in approximately 7,100 deaths. Drivers swerving out of their lanes cause 483,000 collisions and sideswipes each year, leading to 10,300 fatalities. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the most promising technologies in reducing vehicle-related accidents and deaths are forward-collision warning (FCW) and lane-departure warning (LDW).

“Bosch is an innovator in technologies that will help save lives with the added benefit of driver comfort and security,” said Dr. Dieter Hoetzer, product manager, automotive radar and camera products, “Our long-range radar and video sensing technologies networked with other sensors and products that already exist within the vehicle will help the industry reduce fatal accidents.”

Hoetzer explains that by utilizing existing sensors, Bosch’s chassis systems control division is able to provide the latest innovations in safety technologies. In the near future, mounted multi-purpose cameras will enable affordable driver assistance systems, such as lane departure warning, which relies on a front-end camera to identify the road’s boundaries and ensure the driver stays within the lane. If the vehicle unintentionally strays from the lane, the system alerts the driver.

Another example of advanced safety technology is predictive safety systems, which utilizes the long-range radar sensor with an integrated electronic control unity (ECU) to recognize critical situations in front of the car as well as the active safety system, electronic stability control (ESC), which provides appropriate brake force. As a first step, the brake system is pre-conditioned, to provide drivers fastest response times. If the driver fails to take action, this is followed by a flashing symbol in the instrument cluster, an acoustical signal and finally a short brake jolt. This “acute” warning still gives drivers time to avoid a potential accident. Finally, when a collision is unavoidable, automatic braking occurs to reduce the severity of the accident. In order to determine a full autonomous emergency brake situation reliably, a combined radar/video or radar/radar system may be required.

In addition to saving lives and providing drivers added comfort and convenience, Hoetzer said, advanced safety technologies can be developed to customer specifications to help differentiate a given brand.