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UN Decade of Action
for Road Safety
Passive safety
In the field of passive safety Bosch puts time to the best use: With over 25 years of experience Bosch develops and manufactures advanced and reliable occupant and pedestrian protection electronics which precisely trigger passive safety systems such as airbags and seat-belt tensioners in the event of a crash or collision. We thus help vehicle manufacturers to provide better protection for both vehicle occupants and other road users.
The central airbag control unit evaluates sensor signals to identify the force and direction of an impact and triggers the vehicle’s restraint devices for optimal occupant protection and systems for active pedestrians protection respectively.
- Improved safety for occupants and other road users
- Mitigation of the severity of an accident
- Advanced safety by means of networking existing systems and components
- Modular safety systems Synergies due to expertise in system development and networking
Crash phases
The typical sequence of a collision can be divided into three phases:
Pre-crash phase
Even the few milliseconds preceding a crash can be utilized to prepare the occupant protection systems in the best possible way. Sensors and evaluation systems register the situation in and around the vehicle: driving status, proximity to an object, position of vehicle occupants etc. With this information, the thresholds to trigger the restraint devices can be adapted even before impact. Reversible restraint devices such as belt pretensioners can be activated at this stage.
Crash phase
The sensors precisely and rapidly register the direction and severity of the impact. The airbag control unit processes this information and controls the activation of the restraint devices.
Post-crash phase
After the crash, the airbag control unit switches off the fuel supply, unlatches the doors and interrupts the electrical power supply. A modern system can automatically send an emergency call with the precise location of the vehicle.
Occupant protection
Bosch develops and manufactures electronic systems that increase occupant protection through ever faster response times. These help vehicle manufacturers deliver even higher levels of safety. Where necessary, our electronic occupant protection systems activate in-vehicle restraint systems, such as seat-belt tensioners and airbags.
The time immediately preceding an accident and the period in which it actually occurs can be as brief as the blink of an eye. Within this diminutive time span our sensors and processing systems must provide powerful performance in the service of occupant safety. In many cases our occupant protection electronics must measure, analyze and respond in only five thousandths of a second. Because these milliseconds can decide between life and death, we have to use them as effectively as possible: We think ahead and anticipate potential danger before an impact occurs.
Pedestrian protection
Pedestrians and cyclists are particularly at risk in traffic. Their share in the number of road deaths is correspondingly high: in the European Union it amounted to around 25% in 2007. To reduce this number a new EU regulation was introduced that aims to “improve protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users“. Since November 2009, brake assist systems have become mandatory for all new car and light commercial vehicle types in the EU. The regulation will apply to all new vehicles from February 2011. According to EU studies, up to 1,100 fatal accidents involving pedestrians could be prevented in Europe each year if all cars were equipped with braking assistance systems. The EU directive will not only make brake assist systems mandatory, it also foresees stricter regulations with regard to additional bumpers and frontal protection systems. In Japan and Korea similar regulations are planned or already in force. The aim is to reduce the risk of injury for accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.
Passive solutions involve design modifications to the vehicle in order to minimize the risk of injury to pedestrians. As an alternative, an active pedestrian protection system can fulfill the requirements with relatively little effort.
With the electronically controlled system for active impact protection for pedestrians, Bosch offers the automotive industry a solution that is as safe as it is cost-effective. This offers the impacting body a more efficient deformation zone and reduces the risk of injury.
Networking as the key to new safety functions
Bosch safety systems help to avoid crashes and to save lives. Yet our intention is to improve today’s high safety standards even further. Networking is the key to the intelligent utilization of components and systems that previously operated independently from each other. This is the basis for new functions that further increase the safety of vehicle occupants and other road users.
Bosch collects the networking of components and systems of active and passive safety, driver assistance as well as parts of vehicle communication under the name CAPS – Combined Active Passive Safety.
Within CAPS, the central airbag control unit evaluates data from the Electronic Stability Program ESP® and/or the surround sensors in order to identify the risk of vehicle instability or a collision before either occurs.
Internal crash sensors
In the central airbag control unit, sensors are integrated to measure the acceleration during a crash. To detect a vehicle rollover event, additional roll rate and acceleration sensors might be located in the airbag control unit as well. Together with the other components of the occupant protection system, sensors help to protect vehicle occupants.
- Central acceleration sensor
- Plausibility sensor
- Low-g sensor
- Roll rate sensor
Peripheral Sensors
In order to provide early signals about a crash event, peripheral sensors are located in the vehicle's side and front area. Optionally, it is possible to locate a sensor in the car rear end. All sensor data is processed by the central airbag control unit. The triggering decision of the airbag control unit is based on information from the internal and the peripheral sensors.
- Acceleration sensors (PAS/UFS/PCS)
- Two-channel acceleration sensor (PAS enhanced)
- Pressure sensor (PPS)
- Peripheral Sensor Interface (PSI5)
