A safe bet: fueled by the consumer's love affair with crash test rating, the auto industry's on-going, fervent development of safety technologies is a sure thing

Automotive Industries,  March, 2004  by Carla Kalogeridis

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The system also improves the driver's vision in fog. The camera detects heat from objects and is calibrated to be especially sensitive to the temperature of humans and animals.

The view from the infrared camera is projected on a pop-up display screen in front of the driver, just as in modern jet fighters. The camera is so small that it can be installed under the rear edge of the hood. When in use, it is raised and "looks" above the hood just as a periscope--without interfering with the driver's vision.

Another Autoliv product employs a near-zone radar sensor that is capable of identifying the relative speed toward an object and the estimated time of impact in just a few tenths of a second before a crash. The regular crash sensor is then put in alert mode.

"For example, the radar sensor could be mounted on the front end of a light truck," says Jarboe, "and if a crash is imminent, it sends a signal that opens two air release valves on the air suspension system. By venting some air out of the front suspension system, we can lower the front of a truck 4 to 6 in. in about one second, thereby reducing penetration of the front of the truck into a passenger car because the truck would now hit below the passenger car's sill. If you don't lower the structure, then the truck or SUV will just blow through half of the vehicle."

Sensing technologies from the vehicle's active safety systems are also being used with new seat belt technologies. TRW has introduced an active seat belt system that employs sensors in the Mercedes S-Class as part of the manufacturer's "Pre-Safe" system. By bringing together active and passive safety system features, TRW's Active Control Retractor (ACR) belts use braking sensor and stability, control sensor information to react to potentially hazardous driving situations in split seconds. If the sensors detect a potential event, the ACR works with a control algorithm that reads the sensor information and controls the retractor. When the algorithm detects potentially hazardous driving conditions, the ACR immediately reduces the seat belt slack, urging the occupant rearward into a more upright position. In case of a subsequent crash, prepositioning reduces the probability of an "out-of-position" occupant.

What Would They Say?

One would have to guess that if the dummies could talk, they'd say that the automotive industry has grown pretty smart when it comes to safety. The technologies are exciting and the possibilities endless. True, the economics are sometimes scary, but even more frightening would be a world where industry turns a blind eye to the value of saving even one more human life.

"Being part of the automotive safety sector is a feel-good job," says FTSS' Gutwald. "We may complain about each other sometimes, but in the end, the suppliers, the OEMs and the government regulators find common ground and get the job done."

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