BMW has a premium-brand. Therefore, the company mainly makes use of sophisticated advertisments. But this one is a little bit more relaxed!
Have a look and let me know whether you liked it...
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Road Safety that makes Sense
In cooperation with the TU Munich, BMW has successfully developed an intelligent accelerator pedal.
It determines the ideal speed in each traffic situation and informs the driver accordingly, literally through the sole of his shoe. This “remarkable achievement in the enhancement of road safety” has earned the development department the renowned Joseph Ströbl Award.
As most already know, in Germany there are not a lot of speedlimits on the interstates. It is not a rare case that there's no speed limit at all. So it is left to the drivers judgement who fast it is still safe to drive. But most people have difficulties like the correct assessment of one’s own speed in comparison to other vehicles for instance, or the accurate judgement of distances in order to be able to adjust one’s own speed accordingly.
According to BMW's researcher, the onboard system must assist the driver without patronising him or overburdening him with information. Therefore, the BMW Group focuses on the development of ergonomic man-machine interfaces via which the onboard electronics evaluate recommendations and convey them to the driver in an “intuitive” way.
In close cooperation with BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH he joined other TUM institutes in developing the “haptic accelerator pedal”.
The accelerator pedal “marks“ the ideal speed
The basic idea is relatively simply: Whilst it was previously necessary to depress the pedal with linearly increasing force, the haptic accelerator pedal varies the required amount of pressure. In this way it is possible to set “pressure points” on which one can comfortably “rest” one’s foot. If the pressure point is to be exceeded, a slightly higher amount of force is then necessary. In this way the accelerator pedal “marks” certain speeds. “ The driver accelerates until he feels the pressure point, as he has then normally reached the ideal speed. Now, without further effort, he can, so to speak, rest his foot on the accelerator pedal. Or overrule the speed recommendation by slightly depressing the accelerator.
There is a further advantage: Because the onboard computer can identify road junctions, traffic lights and speed limits, the accelerator is able to recommend a gentle and hence economical manner of driving. BMW engineers have provided evidence of a possible fuel saving of up to ten percent. “In future it is quite conceivable – and also planned – that traffic lights, for instance, are intelligently linked to the vehicle via BMW ConnectedDrive so that the onboard computer is able to identify red phases. The haptic accelerator can react accordingly and either propose a premature reduction in speed or signify an ideal speed by means of the pressure point, so that the driver may fully utilise a progressive signal system as a matter of course.
I personally haven't tested this technology. I drove cars which brake for you if you don't have enough distance between the car in front. I very much enjoyed this assistant because in Germany heavy fines on having too little space between you and the car in front of you. This system calculates the exact distance you have to have by law. Especially at high speeds 100 miles and more, it is hard to assess what the right space is! Therefore, I am looking forward testing this futher imporved system.
It determines the ideal speed in each traffic situation and informs the driver accordingly, literally through the sole of his shoe. This “remarkable achievement in the enhancement of road safety” has earned the development department the renowned Joseph Ströbl Award.
As most already know, in Germany there are not a lot of speedlimits on the interstates. It is not a rare case that there's no speed limit at all. So it is left to the drivers judgement who fast it is still safe to drive. But most people have difficulties like the correct assessment of one’s own speed in comparison to other vehicles for instance, or the accurate judgement of distances in order to be able to adjust one’s own speed accordingly.
According to BMW's researcher, the onboard system must assist the driver without patronising him or overburdening him with information. Therefore, the BMW Group focuses on the development of ergonomic man-machine interfaces via which the onboard electronics evaluate recommendations and convey them to the driver in an “intuitive” way.
In close cooperation with BMW Forschung und Technik GmbH he joined other TUM institutes in developing the “haptic accelerator pedal”.
The accelerator pedal “marks“ the ideal speed
The basic idea is relatively simply: Whilst it was previously necessary to depress the pedal with linearly increasing force, the haptic accelerator pedal varies the required amount of pressure. In this way it is possible to set “pressure points” on which one can comfortably “rest” one’s foot. If the pressure point is to be exceeded, a slightly higher amount of force is then necessary. In this way the accelerator pedal “marks” certain speeds. “ The driver accelerates until he feels the pressure point, as he has then normally reached the ideal speed. Now, without further effort, he can, so to speak, rest his foot on the accelerator pedal. Or overrule the speed recommendation by slightly depressing the accelerator.
There is a further advantage: Because the onboard computer can identify road junctions, traffic lights and speed limits, the accelerator is able to recommend a gentle and hence economical manner of driving. BMW engineers have provided evidence of a possible fuel saving of up to ten percent. “In future it is quite conceivable – and also planned – that traffic lights, for instance, are intelligently linked to the vehicle via BMW ConnectedDrive so that the onboard computer is able to identify red phases. The haptic accelerator can react accordingly and either propose a premature reduction in speed or signify an ideal speed by means of the pressure point, so that the driver may fully utilise a progressive signal system as a matter of course.
I personally haven't tested this technology. I drove cars which brake for you if you don't have enough distance between the car in front. I very much enjoyed this assistant because in Germany heavy fines on having too little space between you and the car in front of you. This system calculates the exact distance you have to have by law. Especially at high speeds 100 miles and more, it is hard to assess what the right space is! Therefore, I am looking forward testing this futher imporved system.
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