March 14, 2012
 |
| Pedestrian Airbag Technology. Another world first from Volvo Car Corporation. The rear end of the bonnet is released and at the same time elevated by the deploying airbag. The inflated airbag covers the area under the raised bonnet plus approximately one third of the windscreen area and the lower part of the A-pillar. Credit: Volvo |
Adding several new high-tech features to a full deck of safety and support systems from larger models makes the all-new Volvo V40 the most IntelliSafe Volvo so far. The new features include world-first Pedestrian Airbag Technology. The all-new V40 also features the groundbreaking Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake - as well as the City Safety further developed low-speed collision avoidance system which now operates at speeds up to 50 km/h.
Pedestrian Detection - unique in this class
Pedestrian accidents occur every day in our increasingly intensive traffic environments. In Europe, 14 percent of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians. The corresponding figure for the USA is 12 percent and in China the proportion is over 25 percent.
Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake is a technology that can detect if a pedestrian steps out into the road in front of the car. If the driver does not respond in time, the car can warn and automatically activate the brakes. No other car in this class features a similar technology.
Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake consists of a radar unit integrated into the car's grille, a camera fitted in front of the interior rear-view mirror, and a central control unit. The radar's task is to detect a pedestrian or vehicle in front of the car and to determine the distance to it. The camera determines what type of object it is.
Thanks to the dual-mode radar's wide field of vision, pedestrians about to step into the roadway can also be detected early on. The innovative technology is programmed to trace a pedestrian's pattern of movement and also to calculate whether he or she is likely to step into the road in front of the car. The system can detect pedestrians who are 80 cm tall or taller.
In an emergency situation the driver first receives an audible warning combined with a flashing light in the windscreen's head-up display. If the driver does not react to the warning and a collision is imminent, full braking power is automatically applied.
Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake can avoid a collision with a pedestrian at speeds up to 35 km/h if the driver does not react in time. At higher speeds, the focus is on reducing the car's speed as much as possible prior to impact.
Statistics reveal that the car's speed has considerable importance for the outcome of the collision. A lower speed of impact means that the risk of serious injury is significantly reduced.
Pedestrian Airbag Technology - a world first
In order to mitigate the consequences if a collision with a pedestrian is unavoidable, the Volvo V40 features newly developed Pedestrian Airbag Technology, a world first. It works like this:
Sensors in the front bumper register the physical contact between the car and the pedestrian. The rear end of the bonnet is released and at the same time elevated by the deploying airbag.
The inflated airbag covers the area under the raised bonnet plus approximately one third of the windscreen area and the lower part of the A-pillar.
The raised bonnet and airbag will help reduce the severity of pedestrian injuries.
Source: Volvo Cars
1 comments:
In Australia pedestrian fatalities are about 12% of all road fatalities, a similar rate to several other countries. We are enthusiastically awaiting the launch of the V40 Volvo in Sydney, because Australia doesn't get to see the V40 (in right hand drive here) until early 2013. From all the reports we've seen so far this is a great car!
Post a Comment