Search Results

Active safety systems will have a great impact in the next generation of vehicles. This is partly originated by the increasing consumer's interest for safety and partly by new traffic safety laws. Control actions in the vehicle are based on an extensive environment model which contains information about relevant objects in vehicle surroundings. Sensor data fusion integrates measurements from different surround sensors into this environment model. In order to avoid system malfunctions, high reliability in the interpretation of the situation, and therefore in the environment model, is essential. Hence, the main idea of data fusion is to make use of the advantages of using multiple sensors and different technologies in order to fulfill these requirements, which are especially high due to autonomous interventions in vehicle dynamics (e. g. automatic emergency braking).

Environmental consciousness and tightening emissions legislation push the market share of electronic fuel injection within a dynamically growing world wide small engines market. Similar to automotive engines during late 1980's, this opens up opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and suppliers to jointly advance small engines performance in terms of fuel economy, emissions, and drivability. In this context, advanced combustion system analyses from automotive engine testing have been applied to a typical production motorcycle small engine. The 125cc 4-stroke, 2-valve, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine with closed-loop lambda-controlled electronic port fuel injection was investigated in original series configuration on an engine dynamometer. The test cycle fuel consumption simulation provides reasonable best case fuel economy estimates based on stationary map fuel consumption measurements.

An electronic control of throttle angle is required for safety systems like traction control (ASR) and for advanced engine management systems with regard to further improvements of driving comfort and fuel economy. For applications, in which only ASR is required, two versions of a new traction control actuator (TCA) have been developed. Their function is based on controlling the effective length of the bowden cable between the accelerator pedal and the throttle. Besides retaining the mechanical linkage to the throttle, the concept has no need for a pedal position sensor, which is necessary for a drive-by-wire system. Design and performance of both actuators are described and their individual advantages are compared. Moreover, the communication of the system with ASR and its behaviour with regard to vehicle dynamics are illustrated.

The paper begins with an overview of the history of ABS for commercial vehicles followed by a brief description of the technology of the BOSCH ABS at the time it went into mass production in 1981. Subsequently it describes the field experiences with ABS including the experiences of drivers and operators. These experiences are reflected in the equipment which BOSCH offers today. Additional functions such as ASR (traction control) have been integrated. The paper provides an overview of the functions available today and their implementation. The paper concludes with a discussion on potential continued developments and an attempt to describe the systems which will be required by the mid 9os.

Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) test environments are the ideal virtual platforms for enabling continuous-development, -integration, -testing -delivery or -deployment commonly referred as Continuous-X (CX) of the complex functionalities in the current automotive industry. This trend especially is contributed by several factors such as the industry wide standardization of the model exchange formats, interfaces as well as architecture definitions. The approach of frontloading software testing with SiL test environments is predominantly advocated as well as already adopted by various Automotive OEMs, thereby the demand for innovating applicable methods is increasing. However, prominent usage of the existing monolithic architecture for interaction of various elements in the SiL environment, without regarding the separation between functional and non-functional test scope, is reducing the usability and thus limiting significantly the cost saving potential of CX with SiL.

Among the currently available sensor interfaces for automotive applications, only the PSI5 interface - as standardized in the new 2001 PSI5 V2.0 - meets the rising system requirements, the increased requirements of the new environmental regulations, and the requirements of current functional safety standards. PSI5 not only features the capability to transmit highly accurate sensor data, high EMC robustness, bus capability, and bidirectional communication, but also offers savings in the cable harness and a reduced number of connector pins by using just two wires. It therefore offers enhanced technical functionality at a reasonable cost. To improve the environmental friendliness and sustainable operation of drive concepts, Bosch is also employing sophisticated and cross-linked sensors, actuators and control units. In addition, there is also the need to optimize system functions, weight, construction space and costs.

Since introduction of safety belts in the 70s and airbags in the early 80s, these passive safety technologies have become standard in many markets. Remarkable improvement in passive safety, efforts to alter driver behaviour and infrastructural programmes have led to substantial reductions of fatalities in many regions, although the absolute number of highway fatalities increased e.g. in the USA in 2002 to the highest level since 1990. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as an active safety technology assists the driver to keep the vehicle on the intended track and thereby actively prevents accidents. In 1995 Bosch was the first supplier to introduce ESC for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, where it is marketed as ESP® - Electronic Stability Program. Since then, Bosch has produced more than 30 million systems worldwide. Many studies have now confirmed that ESC can prevent a vehicle from skidding or rolling over in nearly all driving situations.

The conventional measurements to describe the photometric quality of headlamps usually only comprise the luminous flux and the illuminance (resp. the luminous intensity) in several measuring points given by Type Approval Legislation. Practically, these photometric measurements do not describe the visual impression of a headlamp light distribution sufficiently, neither in lab nor in real street geometry. With the clear outer lens headlamps introduced recently, filament images are projected directly onto the screens or streets, thus giving new impulses to research. Starting from the established photometric practice, other types of measurements and physiological fundamentals will be discussed. The basic tools to make physical measurement and physiological impression comparable, e.g. in terms of homogeneity, are shown.

The first generation of radar-sensor-based ACC-Systems will be available in 1998/1999 in Europe. As a first step high end car manufacturers will sell ACC as optional equipment in their top models for a significant add-on price. For this generation good performance was the most important development goal. For the future, however, small, highly integrated systems are needed which easily can be fitted into the body of small cars. High performance and low cost are essential to allow the car manufacturers to sell ACC as standard equipment. A first step in that direction is the “Sensor and Control Unit” developed by Bosch which integrates a FMCW-radar sensor and the ACC-controller in one housing. It is designed for easy manufacturing on existing equipment with standard processes. The design meets the requirements of an early phase with low production figures as well as a phase characterized by increasing numbers and decreasing prices.

Closed loop vehicle control comprising of the driver, the vehicle and the environment is now achieved by the automatic wheel slip control combination of ABS and ASR. To improve directional control during acceleration, the Robert Bosch Corporation has introduced five ASR-Systems into series production. In one system, the electronic control unit works exclusively with the engine management system to assure directional control. In two other systems, brake intervention works in concert with throttle intervention. For this task, it was necessary to develop different highly sophisticated hydraulic units. The other systems improve traction by controlling limited slip differentials. The safety concept for all five systems includes two redundant micro controllers which crosscheck and compare input and output signals. A Traction Control System can be achieved through a number of torque intervention methods.

ABS has proven to be a contribution to active safety. The introduction of traction control (TC) in 1986 and even more significantly, the introduction of vehicle dynamics control (VDC) in 1995 have been further milestones in this field. The functionality of these systems (ABS, TC, VDC) is mainly determined by the electronic control unit (ECU). A system supplier who is to provide an ECU-platform concept including a large functionality, while meeting customer specific requirements at an optimized price, needs standardization strategies. This paper describes a standardization concept for an ABS ECU, beginning with the basic ABS HW and SW design and the extension to TC and VDC. It also shows the degree of flexibility, the benefits for the vehicle manufacturer and the possible cost optimization for the system supplier.

The reduction of nitrous oxides in the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines using a urea water solution is gaining more and more importance. While maintaining the future exhaust gas emission regulations, like the Euro 6 for passenger cars and the Euro 5 for commercial vehicles, urea dosing allows the engine management to be modified to improve fuel economy as well. The system manufacturer Robert Bosch has started early to develop the necessary dosing systems for the urea water solution. More than 300.000 Units have been delivered in 2007 for heavy duty applications. Typical dosing quantities for those systems are in the range of 0.01 l/h for passenger car systems and up to 10 l/h for commercial vehicles. During the first years of development and application of urea dosing systems, instantaneous flow measuring devices were used, which were not operating fully satisfactory.

In order to prevent injuries due to automatic functions like express- and comfort-opening/closing of power operated window-lift and sunroof systems, mechanisms for detecting obstacles have to be established. The main related regulations are the 74/60/ECC and the FMVSS 118. In this paper we present a unified approach for smart actuators that bases on monitoring the rotational speed of the armature. The advantages have been worked out with the aid of system simulation and proven with tests under realistic and extreme scenarios. The presented results are mainly focused on a sunroof project, which is upcoming for an European car platform in 2001 and is specified to fulfill both regulations simultaneously.

This paper describes a new system for early detection of tripped rollover crashes. The main goal of this system is to improve the protection of restraint devices, such as curtain window bags, in these rollover situations. This is achieved by a new rollover sensing (RoSe) algorithm in the airbag controller which produces a very early and robust deployment decision. Based on the analysis of tripped rollover test data, this paper shows how improved rollover sensing performance can be achieved by considering information about the vehicle's driving state before the rollover occurs. The results of this new approach are discussed in terms of deployment times. Finally a combined active and passive safety system architecture for the realization of the approach is suggested.

The demand for more security, economy, and comfort as well as for a reduced environmental impact increases the importance of electronic components for vehicles. The development of such systems is determined by the requirement of an improved functionality and co-requisite the demand for limited costs. In order to fulfil these demands and taking into consideration the increase of complexity and the melting together to a car wide web, Bosch is developing a structuring concept called CARTRONIC®. This concept is supposed to be open and neutral regarding automotive manufactures and suppliers. The analysis of vehicle control systems via this method is based on formal rules for structuring and modelling. The function-related aspect of CARTRONIC® was represented already at the SAE'98 World Congress. Furthermore the safety-related feature was introduced in more detail at the SAE'99 World Congress. The result of the analysis is an object structure of logical components with defined interfaces.

In the last decades the development of Diesel engines has made substantial progress. New, powerful and scalable injection systems have been introduced. In consequence Diesel systems are continuously gaining market share in many places of the world. Advanced direct injection engines with systems like the electronically controlled distributer pump, the unit injection system and of course the common rail system are replacing the chamber engines in all automotive applications. This is all unthinkable without the electronic management of these injection systems by means of Electronic Diesel Control units (EDC). The following presentation describes the status and some future trend of technology of EDCs with particular emphasis on functional and on software development. It also outlines the challenge of global automotive industry that requires global development and application services from its tier 1 suppliers.

During the acquisition phase brake system supplier have to make predictions on a system's thermal behavior based on very few reliable parameters. Increasing system knowledge requires the usage of different calculation models along with the progress of the project. Adaptive modeling is used in order to integrate test results from first prototypes or benchmark vehicles. Since changes in the brake force distribution have a great impact on the simulation results fading conditions of the linings have to be integrated as well. The principle of co-simulation is used in order to use the actual brake force distribution of the system.

Modern airbag control units are required to compute airbag deployment times with a high degree of precision. Therefore, the crash situation has to be recognized unambiguously, i.e. the goal is to obtain precise information about the relative speed, the barrier and the position of impact. One way of achieving this aim is via the implementation of a precrash sensing system using radar sensors. With these sensors, the relative closing velocity and the time-to-impact can be measured, thereby enabling a precise analysis of the crash situation. In this paper the algorithm for the computation of the airbag deployment decision will be presented.

Traction control (ASR) is the logical ongoing development of the antilock braking system (ABS). Due to the high costs involved though, the widespread practice of reducing the engine power by electronic throttle control (or electronic enginepower control) has up to now prevented ASR from becoming as widely proliferated as ABS. A promising method has now been developed in which fuel-injection suppression at individual cylinders is used as a low-price actuator for a budget-priced ASR. First of all, an overview of the possibilities for influencing wheel-torque by means of intervention at the engine and/or brake as a means of reducing driven wheel slip is presented. Then, the system, the control strategy, and the demands on the electronic engine-management system with sequential fuel injection are discussed. The system's possibilities and its limitations are indicated, and fears of damaging effects on the catalytic converter are eliminated.

The official Indian accident statistics show that the number of road accidents and fatalities are one of the highest worldwide. These official statistics provide important facts about the current accident situation. It is suspected that for various reasons not all accidents are reported to the official statistic. This study estimates the degree of underreporting of traffic accidents with casualties in India. In order to get a national overview of the traffic accident situation it is necessary to improve the knowledge about underreported accidents. Therefore, the in-depth accident database of “Road Accident Sampling System India” (RASSI) was analyzed [1]. This project is organized by a consortium that has collected traffic accidents scientifically in four different regions since 2011 on the spot which have been reported either by police or by local hospitals and own patrol by RASSI engineers.