It’s a grim thought but every year the equivalent of the entire population of a small city is killed in traffic accidents in the EU alone. Consequently, there is a clear need for further improvements in traffic safety, specifically braking technologies. In this interview, Matthew Beecham talked with Cyrus Kerfekhah, head of Project Quality of Continental’s Electronic Brake Systems business unit to find out how the company is playing its part to reduce the accident toll by pushing back the technical boundaries of electronic braking systems.
It is said that from 2014, it will be ‘practically impossible’ for new vehicles to receive a five star Euro NCAP rating if they are not fitted with an Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system. What’s your view on the prospects for increasing fitment of such technology?
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Reducing the number of traffic fatalities was and will remain the most important issue. We support the route to greater road safety by developing highly innovative safety technologies. Especially two new safety technologies – Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems and Lane Departure Warning – will decisively improve the active safety of cars and trucks. We believe that we will see more safety improvements for so called “vulnerable” road users e.g. pedestrians, motorcycles.
Euro NCAP is driving with its new rating scheme the expansion of AEB systems. Also insurance companies are giving incentives to the end customer, if they are equipping their new vehicles with AEB systems (e.g. UK).
Although some carmakers already offer AEB, we understand that there are no or few guidelines for how it should operate (such as whether it should just inform the driver of an impending impact or actually initiate braking). So I guess it is not as straightforward for car buyers as ticking the AEB box on the options list. What’s your view?
For us, safety is a communications task! We see a need to inform end consumers and explain to them the purpose and the benefits of safety technologies. This is an additional task for the automotive industry and its suppliers that goes far beyond merely developing the technologies. We have to enhance public awareness and acceptance of driving safety technologies and pay attention to “safety for everyone” – provide safe and intelligent mobility for everyone, no matter where they live and work – which is a vital and decisive step on the road for the realisation of “Vision Zero”. We also have to bear in mind that the purpose of safety technologies is to look after the driver – and not the other way around.
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By GlobalDataAs with a number of other collision avoidance systems, is there a danger that cars fitted with AEB will make the driver that little less attentive (‘safe’ in the knowledge that the technology will take over if required?)
Driver distraction and less attentive drivers are a serious issue and needs to be addressed. Distraction can be root caused by a number of different things happening within a moving vehicle including mobile devices, passengers like kids on the backseat, poor HMI of car functions, fatigue and others. The challenge will be to support and help the driver with technologies to enhance driver safety and to enable drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road through voice, head-up displays and touch or gesture displays. Within Continental we have with our Interior division specialists for human machine interface topics.
As we understand it, Continental has developed an emergency braking function that can prevent or mitigate secondary impacts. How does this work and on which vehicles is it being fitted?
An optical sensor uses infrared beams to monitor the road space in front of the vehicle, up to a distance of about ten metres. The sensor is mounted behind the windshield at the level of the rear-view mirror and rain sensor, from where its electronics calculate the distance to the vehicle in front. If the distance diminishes so rapidly that a collision appears imminent, the brake system is immediately placed on emergency standby, e.g. by positioning the brake pads against the brake disks. If the driver then also applies the brakes, there will be significantly more braking power available. If the driver is inattentive and shows no sign of having recognized the danger of the looming collision, for example, through executing an evasive manoeuvre or with a change of position of the accelerator or brake pedals, the EBA City system will automatically apply the brakes at the very last moment. This can decelerate the vehicle by up to 15 km/h, which will prevent an accident or, in any case, significantly reduce the severity of an impact.
Emergency Brake Assist, like various other driving safety and advanced driver assistance systems, has already arrived in the mid-sized and compact class. At the Frankfurt International Motor Show in 2011, both a German and an Italian car manufacturer presented a compact car fitted with the Emergency Brake Assist city version from Continental.
Today, Continental already offers scalable systems that enable not only a broad range of functions to meet premium standards, but also, on the same platform, selected functions in the cost structure necessary for small cars.
To what extent can networking vehicle safety systems prevent secondary accidents?
As part of our ContiGuard safety concept we have developed a Post Crash Braking Technology which is designed either to prevent secondary accidents or to at least moderate their effects, thus reducing the potential risks to vehicle occupants and other road users. The airbag sensorics play a vital role in Post Crash Braking Technology. Irrespective of the vehicle’s own speed, the Safety Control Unit (SCU) recognizes from the crash sensor signals that a collision has occurred and transmits a signal to the electronic braking system via the onboard data network. Based on Electronic Stability Control (ESC) technology, the safety system will then automatically brake the vehicle after the impact, even if the driver is no longer operating the brake pedal, thus reducing the risk of dangerous secondary collisions and minimizing injuries and damage. An important feature of the safety system is that it will return control of the vehicle to the driver if, at any time after the collision, the driver actively operates the accelerator pedal or carries out an emergency braking by himself. If there is no such intervention from the driver, the system will brake the vehicle to a complete stop.
Could you tell us more about your electrohydraulic brake system (MK C1)?
Less is more – in keeping with this motto, the innovative MK C1 unit by Continental reduces the number of individual components in the braking system while simultaneously increasing its performance.
In the new MK C1, the brake actuation, the brake booster and the control systems (ABS, ESC) are combined into a compact, weight-saving braking unit.
The electro-hydraulic MK C1 can build up braking pressure significantly faster than conventional hydraulic systems, thereby fulfilling the increased pressure dynamics requirements for new advanced driver assistance systems in order to prevent accidents and protect pedestrians.
In addition, the system can fulfil the requirements for a regenerative braking system without any additional measures, while providing a high level of comfort.
What are the most likely technical developments in braking systems? Does legislation play a significant part in prioritising technical developments? If so which aspects are most relevant?
The remainder of this interview is available on just-auto’s QUBE research service
