Delphi Redefines Vehicle Safety at SAE 2000
6 March 2000
Delphi Redefines Vehicle Safety at SAE 2000 "A System of Systems" Approach Challenges Vehicle OEMs
To Think of Safety in a New Way
DETROIT, March 6 Delphi Automotive Systems
offered an expanded view of vehicle safety today with its Integrated Safety
System(C) (ISS) of vehicle electronics and safety technologies.
Delphi's ISS -- an all-inclusive and vehicle-wide safety system design
that can combine any of Delphi's more than 50 safety technology offerings --
is geared to reduce vehicle collisions, enhance occupant protection and assist
post-event rescue efforts. Delphi today debuted the ISS concept and
associated technologies at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
2000 World Congress at Cobo Center (exhibit #1829).
The ISS encompasses the safety impact of multiple technologies from
advanced collision avoidance to post-incident protection. ISS represents an
evolutionary step in onboard vehicle safety because it considers these
technologies within a complete vehicle framework architecture, according to
Rodney O'Neal, Delphi executive vice president and president of Delphi's
Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture sector.
"This means that Delphi is thinking about your safety every moment that
you are in your vehicle," he said.
"We offer more safety-related technologies, systems and components than
anyone else in the industry today, and the integration of those offerings
represents a significant step toward creation of the safety system of the
future," O'Neal said.
O'Neal said Delphi's ISS concept is designed to help automakers broaden
the traditional view of automotive safety. "Historically, automotive safety
products have been designed to offer a specific type of protection at a
specific point in time - with most of these products being focused on the
collision state. The concept behind ISS is to offer enhanced occupant
protection throughout the entire continuum of the driving experience."
Delphi's ISS considers the driving experience through five distinct
"safety states" -- normal, warning, collision-avoidable, collision-unavoidable
and post-event.
"In all cases, we are developing or refining advanced preventative and
occupant- protection safety technologies," O'Neal said.
Normal Driving
The prevalent driving situation is the "normal" state, where the driver is
alert, comfortable and in control. Delphi is continually developing and
refining technologies that ensure this state is maintained. These are:
-- Forewarn(R) Adaptive Cruise Control (available in the market today) --
A radar or laser-sensing technology that helps ensure a safe distance
is maintained between vehicles during cruise control operation, even in
the most congested traffic;
-- Advanced Driver Monitoring (under development) -- A technology that may
use a combination of biological sensors, eye-tracking devices and
vehicle-steering information to provide information on driver
alertness;
-- Emergency Sickness Alert (under development) -- Biological sensors and
tracking devices in the Driver Monitoring System could also be used to
alert the driver to an emergency health situation;
-- Inclement Weather Indicator (available in the near-term) -- A feature
included in the vehicle's integrated communication system which
monitors local weather broadcasts and provides the driver with updated
advisories on potentially inclement and/or hazardous weather;
-- Road Surface Condition Monitor (under development) -- A sensing system
that could reliably indicate to the driver whether the roadway ahead is
wet, dry, icy, rough, etc.;
-- Adaptable Interior Features (under development) -- A unique vehicle
interior design concept in which certain features within the passenger
compartment of a vehicle can be adjusted to the ergonomic requirements
of the occupant;
-- Power Adjustable Pedals (available in the near-term) -- Ergonomically
designed pedals that allow reach adjustment to increase the driver's
comfort and safety;
-- Automatic Windshield Fog Prevention (available in the near-term) -- An
electronic/electromechanical climate control system that predicts
potential window glass fogging situations and activates defoggers
automatically;
-- Human Machine Interface (conducted today) -- Human information
processing, perception, physiology, biomechanics and socio-economic
factors are considered in interior design and development to generate
products that enable the user to improve control of the vehicle while
driving;
-- Head-up Displays (available in the market today) -- A system of
redundant instrument readouts that projects important information onto
the windshield to allow the driver to read the data without looking
away from the road;
-- Smart Battery (available in the near-term) -- Maintenance-free vehicle
battery that includes electronic features to provide improved safety
and security;
-- Traction Control (available in the market today) -- Electronic brake
and engine control systems that automatically help the driver control
wheel spin in order to provide improved vehicle traction; and,
-- Seatbelt Comfort Features (under development) -- These are designed to
provide ease of movement and added comfort for vehicle occupants.
Warning State
In the "warning" state, an array of functional alerts serves to aid the
driver in recognizing detectable threats. Delphi developments in this area
include:
-- Forewarn(R) Collision Warning (available in the market today) -- A
technology that uses laser, radar, infrared, and long-range sensing
devices to provide warnings and/or aid for backing up, forward
collisions, blind spots, lane changes, and lane and/or roadway
departures; and,
-- Low Tire Pressure Warning (under development) - Electronic sensing
systems which monitor the vehicle's tire pressures directly or
indirectly through wheel speeds and alert the driver when a tire
pressure is low and may be unsafe for driving.
Collision-Avoidable State
If the potential for vehicle collision is detected and can be immediately
avoided, several vehicle control enhancements are available to supplement the
driver's actions. Technologies Delphi is developing or refining in this area
include:
-- Forewarn Collision Avoidance (under development) - Collision avoidance
features can be designed to be driver initiated, vehicle initiated, or
a combination of the two;
-- Rollover Avoidance System (available in the near-term) -- A system of
sensors which will be able to detect the characteristics of a potential
vehicle rollover, then direct the vehicle's chassis control systems to
engage appropriate countermeasures;
-- Throttle-By-Wire (under development) -- The mechanical functions of a
major vehicle dynamics system are controlled by a highly organized
network of wires, sensors, controllers and actuators in order to
provide enhanced performance;
-- Anti-Lock Braking Systems (available in the market today) -- Electronic
brake control systems that control wheel slip in order to prevent wheel
lock-up during excessive braking for conditions;
-- TraXXar(TM) Vehicle Stability Enhancement System (available in the
market today) -- This chassis control system helps enhance vehicle
stability and steerability if the limits of adhesion are exceeded by
sensing the driver's desired path compared to the vehicle's actual
path;
-- Galileo(R) Intelligent Brake Control Systems (available) - This product
family of Brake-By-Wire technologies offers power assist, anti-lock
braking, traction control, TraXXar, and tunable pedal feel functions;
-- MagneRide(TM) (available on a program to be announced in the near-term)
-- This new controlled suspension technology uses
magneto-rheological(MR) fluid-based dampers to improve ride and
handling;
-- Dynamic Body Control (available in the market today) -- This advanced
chassis system technology provides interactive control of roll angle
during cornering, severe steering maneuvers and straight-line driving
in order to help improve handling, comfort and safety;
-- QUADRASTEER(TM) Four-Wheel Steering system (available on a program to
be announced early this decade) -- A unique four-wheel steering system
that helps make driving at higher speeds safer with added stability and
control, especially during lane changes and inclement weather;
-- Steer-By-Wire (under development) -- An advanced steering technology
that is enabled by electronic sensing and actuators coupled with
fault-tolerant, redundant controls; and,
-- Unified Chassis Control (under development) -- By overseeing and
coordinating vehicle subsystems like braking, suspension and steering,
Unified Chassis Control enables increased information-sharing, smarter
decision-making and coordinated control for the current driving
situation.
Collision-Unavoidable State
Delphi offers a range of technologies that help optimize occupant
protection in front, side and rear collisions as well as vehicle rollovers
with its Advanced Safety Interior(TM) portfolio of safety-related products.
These include:
-- Adaptive Restraint Technologies(TM) (available in the near-term) --
Includes advanced occupant detection sensors and other features
designed to match the deployment of the airbags with the needs of the
situation (smart airbag technology);
-- Head/Torso and Side Airbag Systems (available in the near-term) --
Provides additional protection in the event of a side impact or
rollover collision;
-- Variable Output Airbag Modules (available in the near-term) -- Enables
advanced adaptive safety systems to provide optimized occupant
protection by "tuning" airbag deployment;
-- Active Knee Bolsters (available in the near-term) -- Airbag cushion
designed for deployment in the knee area to help reduce lower leg
injury;
-- Seatbelt Pretensioners and Hypertensioners (available in the near-term)
-- Pretensioners help to provide protection by removing the slack from
the seat-belt system. Hypertensioners help provide added protection;
coupling the occupant more tightly to the vehicle gives the occupant
the benefit of vehicle crash absorption;
-- Anticipatory Crash Sensing (under development) - Uses radar, laser
and/or ultrasonic sensors to detect potential impact situations;
-- Adaptive Energy-Absorbing Steering Columns (available in the market
today) -- Provide variable energy absorption levels based on occupant
size which allows for a more enhanced response to the specific type of
event;
-- Occupant Characteristics Sensing/Tailoring (available in the near-term)
--- Uses seat-mounted occupant mass sensors for categorizing occupant
size or presence of a child or child seat. Also includes occupant
position sensors to monitor occupant profile and position; and,
-- Crash Data Recording (available in motorsports today) -- Features for
recording various crash data to assist in understanding the accident
scenario.
Post-Event State
In the event that a collision does occur, Delphi's ISS includes the
development of technologies designed to help reduce risks to occupants and
pedestrians and provide assistance for rescue efforts. These include:
-- Fire Suppression System -- (available in the near-term) The utilization
of fire suppressants and intumescent materials for potential interior
and exterior application in order to help reduce the risk of
collision-induced ignition of combustible materials;
-- Mayday(TM) System (available in the market today) -- A totally
integrated vehicle safety system with the capability to monitor an
accident situation and communicate important data to an emergency
notification service;
-- Easy Exit (available in the near-term) -- Features that facilitate
vehicle exit by the occupants and/or vehicle entry by rescue personnel.
These include an automatic "windows down" capability for power windows
and an automatic "doors unlock" feature;
-- Fuel System Cutoff (available in the near-term) -- Automatic shut-off
of the fuel pump and turn-off of the engine in order to reduce the
potential of a fire within the vehicle;
-- Unfired Pyrotechnic Device Disarming (available in the near-term) --
Delphi is investigating methods that can disarm unused pyrotechnic
devices following an accident to help provide additional protection to
vehicle occupants and rescuers; and,
-- Electrical Power Disconnect (under development) -- This would enable
the ISS to disconnect any unnecessary electrical power in the event of
an accident.
Delphi Automotive Systems, headquartered in Troy, Mich., USA, is a world
leader in transportation and mobile electronics components and systems
technology. Delphi's three business sectors - Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety,
Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communication --
provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has
approximately 213,500 employees and operates 175 wholly owned manufacturing
sites, 41 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales offices and
27 technical centers in 38 countries. Regional headquarters are located in
Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Delphi can be found on the Internet at
http://www.delphiauto.com.
