2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Mercedes has numerous innovations for improved safety in and on the car. Most of the innovations are still a long way from being ready for series production.
With an experimental safety vehicle, Mercedes is showing how cars can become even safer in the future. According to the manufacturer in Stuttgart, the study based on the S-Class has more than a dozen innovations. These include lightweight and space-saving crash structures, the metal sheets of which are unfolded into stable profiles like an airbag before an impact, as well as a brake pad that pops out from under the car floor.
Far from being ready for series production
According to the researchers, the cushion makes a major contribution to reducing the impact speed through a friction profile and the pressure of the bodywork: at 50 km / h, the effect is as great as that of 18 centimeters more front end.
While these technologies are still a long way from being ready for series production, an expansion of the so-called pre-safe brake is already possible in the near future. After only having to brake fully in frontal accidents, the sensors will in future also look to the rear and to the side. In this way, the vehicle can be avoided in an uncontrolled manner.
New airbag designs
The developers have also come a long way with a number of new airbag designs: According to the information, special air cushions in the seat backs can push passengers towards the middle of the vehicle in the event of a side crash and thus bring them further out of the danger zone. In addition, the researchers are working on airbags in the seat belts and between the passengers to prevent injuries from their collision.
So-called car-to-car communication comes to the fore so that an accident does not occur in the first place: cars are supposed to exchange information via data networks and thus warn the following traffic of dangers. In addition, the developers are experimenting with reflectors, as we already know from trucks, and a further developed headlamp system to protect against night accidents. It should not only adapt to the weather and traffic, but also draw the driver's attention to risks such as pedestrians with an integrated point source. (dpa / tmn)
