Shapes the car of the future to help prevent accidents
and to mitigate injuries
DETROIT, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing the SAE World Congress today
on advances in vehicle safety, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board
Continental AG Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart said, "We are in the midst of a revolution
in active and passive vehicle safety systems. We will be able to link the
information generated both by existing systems and those yet to come and put
them to the task of saving lives."
"The car of the future will have electronic reflexes that will network
both active and passive vehicle safety systems, and will provide operating
support to the driver by monitoring traffic situations, recognizing
circumstances that require responsive action, and initiating staged hazard
response strategies."
Ziebart pointed out that on average, one person is killed every minute in
car crashes around the world -- more than half a million deaths annually. And
according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in
the year 2002, there were 42,815 auto-related deaths and nearly 3 million
auto-related injuries in the U.S. alone.
Continental's primary focus is crash avoidance, along with the potential
reduction of fatalities and injuries on the highways of the world.
Electronics are the key to delivering a much higher-functioning vehicle in the
future.
"Today, vehicles have equipment that can help prevent crashes from
happening. Sophisticated anti-lock brake systems (ABS) with brake assist
functions, active rollover protection (ARP) and adaptive cruise control (ACC)
give the driver greater control over the forward dynamics of the vehicle.
And, by intervening automatically, modern electronic stability control (ESC)
systems can help prevent a large number of accidents caused by a vehicle
reaching its lateral handling limits. As we move forward, these electronic
control systems are becoming networked with other vehicle components."
Ziebart explained that focusing on passive systems such as airbags and
seat belts to reduce the severity of injuries once accidents occur is
important, but active systems like ABS, ESC, ARP, ACC and lane departure
systems (including lane departure warning and lane keeping support (LKS)) must
be of equal focus so accidents can be prevented in the first place.
Continental's Active Passive Integration Approach (APIA) project has the
objective of linking existing active systems such as ABS, ESC, ARP, ACC, LKS
and passive systems such as restraint systems, seat adjusters and window
controls into an integrated network. Continental also plans to provide for
future active and passive safety components that may be added in the future,
such as road sign detection. This centrally-controlled system will allow the
driver to recognize and master impending hazards and to use what time is
available to minimize the risk of injury if an accident becomes unavoidable.
"We've based our APIA project on data interchange among all systems
collecting information on the activities of the driver, the behavior of the
vehicle and the status of the driving environment," said Ziebart. "This also
allows us to eliminate redundant sensors that are duplicated in the various
systems. For example, the same yaw rate sensor in the ESC system can also
provide the signals for ACC or side airbags."
The key component of APIA is the Danger Potential Calculator that detects
traffic hazards and determines the probability of an accident for the current
traffic situation and, if necessary, initiates a staged hazard response to
protect the vehicle's occupants and other road users.
These new systems are not "gadgets" or "accessories" that complicate the
driving experience, but rather enrich it. The safety advances that the
"smarter vehicles" bring are crash avoidance benefits. Active and passive
safety measures must be networked in order to reach the objective we all seek
-- the avoidance of crashes, if possible, and when crashes are not avoidable,
significant reduction of fatalities and injuries.
With 2002 sales of approximately $12 billion (US), Continental AG is a
major supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics,
tires and technical rubber products. Continental Automotive Systems' North
American operation is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich. For additional
information, visit these websites: http://www.conti-online.com and
http://www.contitevesna.com .
SOURCE Continental Teves
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Related links:
http://www.conti-online.com
http://www.contitevesna.com
CONTACT:
Jim Gill, M.S., APR of Continental Teves,
+1-248-393-5210, cell: +1-248-882-6309, or
jim.gill@usa.contiteves.com
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