| Volvo
has further enhanced its safety reputation by showing off four new state-of-the-art
advances in safety technology, three of which have been specifically designed
to help eliminate accidents.
Volvo’s BLIS system (right) that goes someway to eliminating the blind spot problem and below Volvo’s inflatable curtain that will feature in the next generation Volvo convertible |
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Blind spot information system
Better known as BLIS, this system aids the driver’s visibility through
the use of warning sensors, which includes digital camera technology and
a monitoring system being mounted in the door mirror to observe for vehicles
on both sides of the car. When another vehicle enters the monitored zone,
a warning lamp lights up near the door mirror to alert the driver of the
danger.
Adaptive cruise control with radar sensors
Operating via sensors placed in the front end of the vehicle, this advanced
take on adaptive cruise control automatically adjusts the vehicle’s
speed to help maintain a safe distance from the car in front.
The driver can set a maximum speed and minimum time interval to the vehicle
in front, and if another car pulls into the safety space that’s
been created, the adaptive cruise control technology automatically adjusts
the car’s speed to maintain a safe distance.
Advanced warning system
In a bid to cut the number of rear-end impacts, Volvo engineers have developed
advanced warning technology that has the capacity to constantly monitor
the road ahead and automatically alerts the driver – and even applies
the brakes of the vehicle – to help avoid a collusion with the car
ahead.
The breakthrough technology uses radar installation in the front of the
car to automatically alert the driver with a buzzer and warning lamp if
the distance to the vehicle in front reduces drastically. In addition,
if the system thinks the driver is not braking hard enough to stop the
car in time, the technology cuts in and increases the braking pressure
to maximise the car’s deceleration, thus avoiding a collusion.
Inflatable curtain for convertibles
To feature on Volvo’s next generation convertible, engineers in
Gothenburg have found a solution to fitting the IC to a topless car by
placing the IC inside the door, rather than in the roof like the rest
of the Volvo range.
In a side impact, the curtain inflates and pushes itself upward with a
split second to position itself between the side window and occupant’s
head. The door-mounted IC is also designed to work if the side window
is down and deflates slowly during a rollover accident.
It is expected that all four safety breakthroughs will be put into production
in the future, with the inflatable curtain for convertibles and the BLIS
technology expected to come first.
Said Lex Kerssemakers, head of product planning, Volvo Cars: “These
systems will be introduced gradually. We expect to see BLIS in production
later in 2004, while the door-mounted inflatable curtain will be introduced
in the next generation of Volvo convertibles, but we have not yet decided
which cars the other systems will first be seen in or when they will go
into production.”
Kerssemakers added: “We see these advanced systems as vital in Volvo’s
ongoing strategy of remaining world leaders in the field of safety.”
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