Automotive News Europe - January 5, 2009 - 13

January 5, 2009 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 13 Spotlight on Technology Pressure rises to protect pedestrians Automakers use active hoods, sensors to reduce deaths in car-versus-people accidents Wim Oude Weernink Automotive News Europe Automakers and suppliers are responding to pressure to make new cars less dangerous to pedestrians and cyclists. Tougher rules for pedestrian protection take effect in four years. In addition, starting next year EuroNCAP will deny a car the independent car-testing organization’s coveted five-star safety score if the model does a poor job protecting people from injury or death if hit by a car. (See story, Page 12) To comply with the tougher rules automakers are redesigning the front-ends of their cars and using solutions from suppliers such as Autoliv of Sweden, Robert Bosch and Continental of Germany, and IEE of Luxembourg. Research Anil Valsan said late last month that the firm still expects strong uptake for the systems. But he said it will take longer to reach the levels previously predicted because of the drastic changes automakers are making to their product plans. Because head injuries from contact with the car hood, windshield and Apillar are a major cause of pedestrian deaths, many mass-market brands are designing more energy absorbing space into the area between the front grille and the engine compartment. While it is complex, doing the redesign is more affordable than the alternatives, said Takoshi Yamamoto, chief engineer of Toyota’s new Avensis. “It requires extra design and engineering efforts but as long as you do not apply so-called active hoods, pedestrian safety measurements are not very costly,” Yamamoto said. Many premium brands, including Mercedes, are choosing to use popup hoods, because they reduce head injuries by 30 percent, according to industry experts. Media reports say that the next Mercedes E class, due later this year, will have a hood that pops up 50mm in the event of an accident with a cyclist or pedestrian. To meet EU standards, there must be a total of 80mm between the hood and the hard, injury-causing components under it. The E class will join the Jaguar XK and XF, Citroen C6, Honda Legend and BMW 7 series as models with pop-up hoods. The XK and XF have systems from Autoliv. The Honda Legend’s system was designed inhouse. The C6’s system comes from French conglomerate SPRIA with help from sensor supplier ACTS. The hoods are costly because they need a pyrotechnic system to get them Making space Some models with pop-up hoods BMW 7 series Citroen C6 Honda Legend Jaguar XF Jaguar XK Mercedes E class to rise as well as electronic sensors that use complex detection software to calculate when to activate the hood. “Such software and detection systems account for half the cost of an active-hood system,” Autoliv spokesman Hendrik Kar said. Suppliers and automakers declined to reveal the price of an active hood system, but industry sources say that they cost the automaker between ¤350 and ¤500 a car. CSM Worldwide analyst Richard Buitendijk said he expects the systems will remain mostly on high-end cars because of their cost. Autoliv expects the cost of active hood to fall once pyrotechnic activation systems can be replaced by a simpler spring systems. Different solutions The protective systems vary from pedestrian-friendly bumpers and hoods to pop-up hoods to electronic sensors that detect a person in the roadway and warn the driver. The aim of future systems is to stop the car before it hits a pedestrian. In a report done in 2005, automotive industry analysts Frost & Sullivan forecast that 50 percent of vehicles in the premium segment would have pedestrian warning systems in place by 2010. By 2015, one-quarter of all cars will have such systems, the analysts forecast. Frost & Sullivan Global Director of Seeing trouble ahead Along with its standard pop-up hood, the 7 series also has an Autolivsourced pedestrian warning system, which is part of the car’s optional night-vision package that costs the customer about ¤2,000. Using a grille-mounted high-resolution infrared camera, a computer alerts the driver that there are pedestrians at risk of being hit by the vehicle. The new E class also will have a pedestrian warning system. Bosch Along with its standard pop-up hood, the new BMW 7 series has a pedestrian warning system, which is part of the car’s optional night-vision package. is the supplier. The next steps are systems that can avoid hitting pedestrians or reduce the impact speed if the driver doesn’t slow down enough. Volvo’s S60 concept, which debuts at next week’s Detroit auto show, can Europe’s pedestrian protection and a car collide. come to a stop before hitting a pedesThe rules are part of the EU’s aim trian. It does this with the help of the rules were adopted in 2003 and took to reduce the number of annual road next-generation of Volvo’s so-called effect two years later. They require that the front ends of fatalities to 25,000 by 2010 from City Safety crash avoidance system. “We use more advanced radar and new cars are less dangerous to 50,000 in 2001. About 8,000 pedescameras with a wider angle so that we pedestrians. That means hoods and trians and cyclists are killed and are now pretty sure that a car is near- bumpers must be designed to ab- 300,000 injured each year in road ing a pedestrian and not another ob- sorb more of the impact if a person accidents, according to the EU. ject like a car or light post,” Anders Eugensson, Volvo’s safety expert for governmental relations, said. ly low. “It is less than ¤100 because departure warning and adaptive He said the cost of the upgraded ac- we already have those cameras and cruise control,” Eugensson said. “We ANE cident-avoidance solution is relative- radar for other functions like lane- only had to add software.” Reason for the rules If the Jaguar XF’s bumper sensors detect a pedestrian is about to be hit, they send a signal that causes the back of the hood to rise using pyrotechnics.

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Automotive News Europe - January 5, 2009

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