The Safety Concept Car (SCC) is a showcase for Volvo's talents and acts as a shopwindow for features it hopes will eventually appear in future generations of its cars. Instead of a traditional remote control key fob, you get a Volvo Personal Communicator (VPC), roughly the size of a small television remote control. The car and remote control communicate automatically, with or without the driver's involvement, and is an example of how Bluetooth wireless technology can be harnessed in cars of the future. The VPC also boasts a built-in fingerprint sensor that can be programmed with personal settings for the driver's seat, pedals, steering wheel, mirrors and so on, to adjust the car before entry. The A-pillars feature an Eiffel Tower-style metal structure to retain their strength and Plexiglas sections for transparency. They may look a bit peculiar, but they substantially reduce any blind spots at the wheel. Furthermore, the B-pillars have been curved inboard to give the driver an unobstructed view over the left shoulder these B-pillars are at least as safe as conventional items in a rollover or side-impact accident. In fact, blind spots should be a thing of the past altogether. Inside the car, sensors locate the position of the driver's eyes, then adjust the seat, steering wheel, pedals, mirrors, gear lever and even the centre console to give the best possible field of vision. Embedded in the door mirrors are sensors that alert the driver to any approaching traffic in the car's blind spot and therefore unseen in the mirrors. Volvo is, at present, exploring two different types of four-point seatbelts in the SCC. Once on the move, more of the SCC's talents come to the fore, especially for night driving. The car is equipped with an infra-red light enhancer that gives the driver a longer and broader field of vision in the dark. As well as the cameras mounted within the door mirrors, there is another in the roof bar that provides visibility to the rear. Another camera points downward for increased vision. Meanwhile, at the front of the Volvo, a forward-facing camera monitors the position of the car in relation to the road line markings 20 m ahead. With all of these devices on board, Volvo has also taken the opportunity to engage a system for prioritising driver information called Intelligent Driver Information Manager (IDIM). IDIM is an excellent illustration of the way information can be sorted and prioritised to make driving safer. The SCC has the latest development of Volvo's On Call telematics system. The car automatically sends an alarm to a call centre in the event of an accident.
Safety - Driving out of danger
Automotive Engineer ; 27 , 1 ; 44-46
2002
3 Seiten, 6 Bilder
Article (Journal)
English