IAA trend in assistance systems As the car slowly replaced the driver

Full are all the rage at the IAA, the emergency braking assistant. So it should come no more before the crash. Overall, the car of the future, the driver will lose more and more work.

So fast you can not watch: blow with a short blast on the belt, creating a protective cushion of air between the belt and chest of the driver. Ford takes 40 milliseconds "Inflatable Seatbelt" until it has unfolded. The airbag-belt of Cologne, which is used by Ford in the U.S. in cars such as the Explorer and will soon come to Europe, is thicker and fluffier than a regular seat belt. That might just appeal to the children, for which the system is also thought - it comes on the back seat is used.

The airbag harness

Torso and shoulder of the passengers are better protected with a thick belt airbag in frontal and side crashes. Everyone who has ever had a car accident can probably remember it as the black lifesavers seem to cut nearly one flesh. Sometimes even stay "Gurtmarken" back. The soft and much broader air bag strap can distribute the energy more effectively to the body, on a five times larger area.

While Ford is with the airbag harness a special path, another system is the latest trend: The automatic emergency braking for city driving. At Ford, called the electronic helpers "Active City Stop" at Volvo it is the "City Safety" system for some time, in the tiny VW Up! It will also be on board. Thus, the automatic emergency brake seems like once ESP to develop slowly but surely becoming a standard feature, even in the small car segment.

A laser sensor monitors the distance to the vehicle ahead to a certain pace, VW, Ford and h. For example, below 30 km / If the car in front suddenly brakes and the driver does not respond, the system initiates an emergency braking. Up to a speed of 15 km / h, the technology to prevent the crash entirely, it will at least reduce the severity of the impact.

Cruise control maintains a distance

Other helpers create more and more often the leap from the premium segment in the bread-and-butter car. In the Opel Zafira, Opel touring as a first time offer adaptive cruise control that keeps up with the help of radar sensors, the distance from the vehicle ahead and costs € 1300. The new Lancia Ypsilon does the automatic parking aid in the subcompact segment, specify where the driver only needs to accelerate and brake and steering all the technology does work.

Widely used are also the high-beam assistant, working with a camera and remove the driver the constant fading in and out at nighttime highway driving. More and more cars can also read road signs, so that one gets along in the speed limit is plastered with a jungle highway construction sites better. The Opel Insignia identifies with his camera, not just speed limits and passing zones, but also a series of rectangular auxiliary signs.

Safety Car Mercedes F 125

With the growing popularity of new high-tech systems, the premium brands already choose a different pace if they want to present themselves more as a leader in safety. Mercedes shows why the IAA with its F125 research institution, which could go into production in 2025: A car that needs at least in some situations, no more drivers. The "Advanced Driving Assist" makes lane changes on multilane roads with no oncoming traffic. In a further stage takes over fellow computer automatically even when overtaking. The driver is, it is said to Mercedes, "keep your hands relaxed on the steering wheel" still could sit back while driving but relaxed.

BMW has also tested the autonomous driving. In a well-equipped 5 Series could accompany the development engineers already on the highway. The car steers, brakes, remains on track - all without the intervention of the pilot. "It's not about showing us that the car drives autonomously," issued Professor Raymond Freymann all thoughts of an automated car future, at least from BMW's point of view, a rejection. "We are concerned only with the accident prevention and the issue of autonomous action in order to make driving safer."

The environment of the car will be monitored by radar, laser and camera. In addition, the car with GPS-corrected data from a few centimeters to calculate exactly where and how he's going. "If even one of the systems does not provide accurate data, jump in the other systems," says developer Helmut Spanheimer. One of the two computer processed in the trunk of this data in real time.

The Future Will Be

Whether such systems ever go into production, it remains doubtful - it will depend not least on whether the clients want it all. The legal aspect is difficult, after all, the pilot must not enter the "physical control" of his vehicle out of hand. The driverless car is production ready so stay a while longer pure music of the future.