Abstract
Keywords: Integrated Safety, Driver Assistance Systems, PRE-SAFE, Safety Requirements, Accident Free Driving
Modern vehicle safety is more and more affected by an integrated approach. Three types of safety systems are currently in the focus to prevent accidents, reduce accident severity and to mitigate its consequences:
- Driver assistance systems, to alert and support the driver in critical situations, in order to avoid accidents, or at least to minimise the severity of the crash.
- Precluding & preventing safety systems, which combine information on the driving conditions just before and during the crash, in order to optimize both active and passive safety measures to prepare the vehicle and occupants for a possible impact.
- Adaptive protection systems individually tailored to the occupant and to the crash severity.
Traditionally, Mercedes-Benz has pioneered the vehicle safety roadmap in the last 50 years. This paper highlights some of the road safety topics which the Daimler Research is focusing on in the future, above & beyond the safety systems mentioned above. To ensure a large-scale and sustainable contribution to the highest road safety standards, several future trends must be addressed, such as increasing driver distraction, urbanisation, and an aging population in industrial societies. The following technologies & features are addressed to further enhance vehicle safety:
- Technology perspective regarding environmental perception and situation analysis
- Cognitive driver behaviour and driver attention guidance
- Preventive and cooperative safety systems (e.g. Car-2-Car-Communication)
- Assistance functions for complex traffic situations (Intersection Assistance)
- Assistance functions for autonomous driving in safety modes
- Reversible occupant protection systems.