The Car Brakes Itself

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

Rear-end collisions could soon be a thing of the past. With the new Coupe CL, Mercedes presents a car that brakes automatically in the event of danger.

By Stefan Grundhoff

Motorists on board are increasingly becoming administrators of high-tech systems. Modern vehicles can already do a lot: route calculation in seconds, data transfer via Bluetooth, remote diagnosis, parking, staying in lane and following the vehicle in front at a safe distance. The latest development from Mercedes-Benz shows how safely we will be on the road in the medium term. Rear-end collisions could soon be history.

With trucks that weigh tons, there are already intelligent, self-initiated braking assistants. Now the Stuttgart-based company is stepping up in the car division. From autumn, Mercedes will not only be equipping its S-Class luxury sedan, but also the new mega-coupe called CL with a miracle brake. A more intelligent braking system is currently not available on two axles. PRE-SAFE has been known from the S-Class since 2002; meanwhile also in other Mercedes models. If the system detects a critical driving situation, the seats are brought into the optimal position, the brakes are applied, the windows and sunroof are closed and preparations are made for a collision. With the extended brake assistant, which the Swabians introduced last autumn with the introduction of the new S-Class (W 221 series),The radar not only kept the distance to the vehicle in front, but also warned of an impending collision with the vehicle in front.

40 percent of the maximum braking power

If the radar sensors located in the front for near and far range recognize that a collision is imminent, the driver is warned acoustically and visually of the most dangerous situation. In this way, he can initiate appropriate measures such as braking or evasive maneuvers in literally the last second. The new PRE-SAFE brake system can do even more. If the driver does not react adequately to the vehement warnings, the system steps into the irons independently - with up to 40 percent of the maximum braking power. The start of series production of the third-generation brake assistant was originally planned for the market launch of the S-Class in September 2005. But the extra will not be available until autumn 2006. ?? We didn't hold back the system, we were simply not finished almost a year ago ??,says Christian Früh, who is responsible for the development of braking systems at Mercedes-Benz.

30 test vehicles covered more than a million test kilometers worldwide in two years before the system worked perfectly in everyday operation. It is intended to ensure more safety, especially in column traffic on the motorway. The results sound promising. Either the driver can still swerve, or the autonomously initiated brake ensures that the severity of the accident is reduced by around 40 percent. “It is extremely difficult to fine-tune a system like this,” explains Mercedes-Benz Development Manager Thomas Breitling: “At the moment, with autonomous partial braking, we can call up 40 percent of the braking power. That is a huge safety gain. Either the driver intervenes to prevent the accident or the severity of the collision can be significantly reduced.

Autonomous emergency braking is coming soon

But that's only the first step. Like a number of other manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz is working flat out on an autonomous emergency braking system. The S and CL Class are currently decelerating with a negative acceleration of a maximum of 0.4 g. “We are currently not so advanced with the technology that we can implement autonomous emergency braking,” says Breitling, “but that will be the logical next step. For this we need an absolute zero-error tolerance. «For the model change in 2006/2007, the system will be available as an option together with BAS Plus and distance cruise control. The security system will cost around 2650 euros in the S-Class and around 1910 euros in the new CL.