BMW 2008 Annual Report Download - page 214

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Of course, even the most visionary safety systems will
never be able to prevent all accidents. That is why the
BMW Group’s integrated safety concept includes not only
normal driving situations, but also the phase before, during
and after a collision. Just milliseconds before a crash,
the impact warning apparatus positions the brake pads and
primes the braking system. Then as soon as the driver
touches the brake, the brake action is optimised according
to the distance and relative speed data provided by the
ACC. Even before the impact occurs, an electric motor reels
in the seat belt to tighten it. After the crash the warning
lights automatically switch on to warn other road users. At
the same time the vehicle control system activates the in-
terior lights and unlocks the central locking to allow rescue
services to get in. In parallel the BMW ConnectedDrive
communications network automatically alerts the local
emergency dispatch centre and provides essential informa-
tion
about the accident within seconds.
This unique system was jointly developed with traumatol-
ogists from the William Lehman Injury Research Center
at the University of Miami. At the core of the system is an
intelligent algorithm that calculates the likelihood of
sus-
taining severe injuries using accident and vehicle data. It
is based on biomechanical accident analyses conducted
by doctors at the Lehman Center to establish connections
between different types of accidents and the probability
of serious or life-threatening injuries. The instant one of
the , vehicles fitted with the emergency call system
is involved in an accident the system calculates the risk
of injury to the passengers from parameters such as type,
severity and direction of the impact and relays the data to
the dispatch centre, along with the vehicle’s exact GPS
position. At the same time the extended emergency call
system establishes a phone connection that allows the
BMW Call Centre and the emergency services to make
contact with the driver. This is the only system of its kind in
the world.
In this way the BMW emergency call system has ensured
a fast response to more than , incidents. Just recently
Klaus Kompaß read a report about a BMW driver who had
crashed his vehicle through the guardrail on a remote
US highway and rolled over. “The man was lying severely
injured off the side of the highway where he couldn’t be
seen,” explains Kompaß. “Under normal circumstances it
could have been hours or even days before anyone found
him there.” But the car’s BMW ConnectedDrive system
alerted the dispatch centre and an ambulance was rushed
directly to the scene of the accident. The man survived.
Before all these safety features become standard equip-
ment
they undergo extensive and rigorous testing at the
BMW Group’s crash facilities. All this involves a tremen-
dous amount of time, effort, and also money. But it gives
the BMW Group access to future technologies which will
directly benefit the Group’s customers. And even though
it is heartbreaking to see all those new vehicles knocked
out of shape at the crash facility, every crash under test con-
ditions helps prevent real injuries on the roads.
Accident type 4:
10 percent = accidents involving
pedestrians.
Standard features:
– pedestrian detection
– Night Vision
– ABS, brake assistant
In research or development phase :
– active emergency braking
The challenge of the future Topic three Access to technologies and customers Safety
c