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UN Decade of Action
for Road Safety
Active safety
Active safety systems prevent crashes
The best protection against crashes is to prevent them. For more than 30 years Bosch has been developing active safety systems that significantly contribute to the reduction in the number of crashes, despite increasing traffic density. Active safety systems such as the Antilock Braking System ABS, the Traction Control System TCS or the Electronic Stability Program ESP® intervene before a crash occurs.
ABS from Bosch prevents the wheels from locking during intense braking and maintains the steerability and stability of the vehicle. TCS prevents the driven wheels from slipping during starting off and acceleration. Bosch ESP® incorporates ABS and TCS, but additionally prevents a vehicle from skidding.
- Prevention of accidents
- New safety functions by means of networking existing systems and components
- Modular safety systems
- Synergies due to expertise in system development and networking
Antilock Braking System ABS
The introduction of the world’s first Antilock Braking System for passenger cars by Bosch in 1978 is a milestone in the area of active driving safety. Since then we have developed our ABS further to offer smaller, lighter and more powerful systems.
Working principle
In an emergency braking situation the braking force applied by the driver may be greater than the tire can handle: the wheel locks. The tire can now no longer transfer any lateral traction forces. The vehicle becomes unstable and uncontrollable, since the vehicle no longer reacts to the steering input of the driver. In a vehicle equipped with an Antilock Braking System, wheel-speed sensors measure the speed of rotation of the wheels and pass this information to the ABS control unit. If the ABS control unit detects that one or more wheels tend to lock, it intervenes within milliseconds by modulating the braking pressure at each individual wheel. In doing so, ABS prevents the wheels from locking and ensures safe braking: the vehicle remains steerable and stable. Generally, the stopping distance is also reduced.
Motorcycle ABS
Their high dynamics make motorcycles inherently unstable, especially when braking. Motorcyclists therefore tend to be reluctant to brake heavily, as a wheel lock up likely leads to a dangerous fall. Bosch’s Antilock Braking System (ABS) allows the rider to brake safely by preventing the wheels from locking up. Bosch has been manufacturing ABS for motorcycles since 1994.
In Europe and Brazil, for example, nearly one in six road deaths is a motorcyclist, and the proportion is much higher in India and China. For the same distance travelled, the risk of a fatal accident when riding a motorcycle in Europe is 20 times greater than when driving a car. Safety experts confirm that the Antilock Braking System provides a considerable gain in safety. It is estimated that only every hundredth motorcycle manufactured worldwide and only every tenth motorcycle manufactured in Europe is equipped with ABS. By comparison, the figure for passenger cars worldwide has now reached 80 percent.
Traction Control System TCS
The Traction Control System (TCS) is a further development of the ABS technology and was first launched onto the market by Bosch in 1986 – at first for commercial vehicles and in 1987 for passenger cars.
The Traction Control System from Bosch prevents wheel spin when starting off or accelerating, particularly on a slippery or wet road surface. While the Antilock Braking System prevents the wheels from locking during braking by reducing the braking pressures, TCS ensures that the wheels do not spin when driving off or accelerating. To do this, the drive torque at each driven wheel is reduced correspondingly. TCS improves the traction of the vehicle and increases vehicle safety by avoiding unstable driving situations within the limits of physics.
Working principle
If one of the driven wheels tends to spin, TCS is activated. The Traction Control System reduces the drive torque supplied by the engine and, if necessary, brakes individual wheels in order to regulate the slip of the driven wheels as quickly as possible to the optimum level.
Electronic Stability Program ESP®
In 1995, active driving safety reached yet another dimension thanks to the introduction of ESP®. ESP® incorporates the functions of ABS and TCS, with the additional benefits of stability control. The system supports the driver in all driving situations. It detects if skidding is imminent and intervenes by applying braking power to individual wheels and/or reducing engine power in order to restore the vehicle's stability.
ESP® becomes mandatory
International studies show that ESP® significantly reduces the number of road fatalities and injuries and makes an important contribution towards road safety. ESP® will become standard equipment in the USA, in Canada, Australia and Europe within the next few years.
Regenerative Braking Systems
Precise data for reliable vehicle functions
Stringent international emissions legislation and the finite availability of fossil fuels have made alternative drive concepts an inevitability. This is why Bosch has been continuously developing the diesel and gasoline engines in parallel to concerted efforts to electrify the powertrain.
The future viability of electrical powertrains is greatly dependant on their range and battery storage capacity. Electric vehicles will achieve ranges that are sufficient for everyday use only with efficient batteries, intelligent energy management and the recovery of braking energy.
Bosch provides customized solutions for regenerative braking. The portfolio includes both vacuum-based systems and vacuum-independent regenerative braking systems. All Bosch regenerative braking systems comply with strict safety requirements for conventional and electrical braking systems.
Sensors
Precise data for reliable vehicle functions
Active safety systems stabilize the vehicle’s handling response in critical situations and thus maintain its steerability. To accomplish this, these systems require reliable sensor information.
Sensors for active safety systems measure the following data:
- Wheel speed
- Steering angle
- Lateral and longitudinal acceleration
- Yaw rate
