Mercedes-Benz: Perspectives: Real Life Safety, Advanced Driver Assist Systems And The ESF Experimental Safety Vehicle

MULGRAVE, AUSTRALIA – October 13, 2010: Real Life Safety, that’s what it’s all about. The Mercedes-Benz philosophy for safety does not focus on crash tests alone, but is much more comprehensive. It takes the findings from accident research into account, and integrates active and passive safety systems – based on more than 70 years of development for more safety on the road.

Mercedes-Benz demonstrates how advanced technology can assist drivers not only in avoiding accidents, but also in reducing the impact if a collision is unavoidable.

All systems shown here are available in E- and S-Class vehicles today. They include: Lane Keeping Assist, Speed Limit Assist, Blind Spot Assist, adaptive cruise-control DISTRONIC PLUS, Brake Assist PLUS, PRE-SAFE Brake, Adaptive High Beam Assist, and ATTENTION ASSIST.

A look into the future: The Mercedes-Benz ESF research vehicle
In 2009, Mercedes-Benz celebrated several anniversaries in the field of safety: in August 1939, the safety pioneer Béla Barényi started his work at Daimler’s Sindelfingen plant in Germany. He invented for example the principle of the crumple zone, a trailblazing innovation which entered series production at Mercedes-Benz in 1959.

With the help of its in-house accident research experts, which was founded in 1969, Mercedes engineers in the following years have developed several groundbreaking innovations in passenger car safety.

Now it is time for a look ahead: The Mercedes-Benz ESF research vehicle based on the new Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID reveals what the safety specialists are currently working on – with a time horizon that often extends well into the future.

The ESF is the first Experimental Safety Vehicle to be built by Mercedes-Benz since 1974. Like its historic predecessors, it illustrates trailblazing innovations in the field of safety and makes the progress achieved clearly visible.

These amazing but by no means crazy ideas include inflatable metallic sections which give more stability to structural components within fractions of a second, as well as the Page 4 so-called "Braking Bag". This airbag housed within the vehicle floor is deployed when a crash is deemed to be unavoidable, and uses a friction coating to support the vehicle against the road surface.

"Safety is a central element of the Mercedes-Benz brand. In this respect we have been setting the pace in the market for almost 70 years. For the benefit of our customers and for road users in general. The ESF shows that we still have plenty of ideas and the absolute will, to lead the automobile industry in this field in future as well", says Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The ESF was developed and built completely in Daimler’s test vehicle workshops in Sindelfingen, Germany. This safety research vehicle based on the Mercedes-Benz S 400 HYBRID features more than a dozen safety innovations, most of which are fully functioning in demonstration mode.

"With the ESF, we have chosen this particular time to clearly demonstrate the innovative strength of Daimler. Anybody examining the ESF in detail will recognise that more safety and improved energy efficiency are not necessarily a contradiction in terms.

We want to make progress in both fields with new, trailblazing ideas", says Dr. Thomas Weber, the member of the Daimler Executive Board responsible for corporate Research and Development at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

The following five innovations on the basis of the S 400 Hybrid are among the highlights of the ESF:

PRE-SAFE Structure: The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the resistance of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.

Braking Bag: This auxiliary brake accommodated in the vehicle floor is Page 5 a new type of PRE-SAFE component. If the sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag is deployed shortly before the crash and supports the car against the road surface. The vehicle's vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.

Interactive Vehicle Communication: The ESF is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using "ad hoc" networks and WLAN radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.

PRE-SAFE Pulse: This further development of PRE-SAFE is able to reduce the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the centre of the vehicle by up to 50 millimetres as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.

Spotlight function: This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUS e.g. detects deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.

Mercedes-Benz is continuing a longstanding tradition with the ESF.

For the ESV Safety Conferences held in 1971 to 1974, the safety experts in Stuttgart, Germany built more than 30 experimental vehicles and subjected them to crash tests to satisfy the visionary safety requirements of that time. Four of these ESFs (Experimental Safety Vehicles) were presented to the public, and many of the revolutionary ideas such as ABS or the airbag first entered series production at Mercedes-Benz.