Nissan is developing a safety feature for it’s cars to help avoid colliding with the vehicle in front in the case of a possible sudden brake situation.
In Nissan’s accelerator pedal safety system, a combination of radar sensors connected to a computer system monitors the car’s speed and the distance to the vehicle in front. If the vehicle in front suddenly slows down (like a jam brake situation) or there is any other possibility of a rear-end collision as calculated by the computer system, the gas pedal will automatically rise against the driver’s foot as a signal to step on the brake.
Once the driver lifts his foot off the accelerator pedal, the system does not wait for him to start braking, it automatically kicks in. Of course, the driver’s foot would go ahead and press the brakes anyway.
This makes me think, doesn’t this system require the use of brake-by-wire? Brake-by-wire’s benefits versus safety hazard is still being debated in the industry, though most modern brake-by-wire systems like Mercedes Benz’s Sensotronic Braking Control comes with a manual safety net.
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sometimes, it is just nice to drive a car "the old school" way.. not mush electronics, but just good mechanical and hydraulic combinations.. but, i guess, modern cars must be equal to a fighter jet….
Electronically control instead of mechanical type may lead to higher maintenance cost, normal mechanic do not have the skill and knowledge to repair it in the event of breakdown. Go to their respective service centre – then like government department – have to take no., make appointment, wait for at least 1/2 day and of course come with unpleasant figure on bill! Is that this innovation is value for moeny! Human response is equally good compare to computerise gadget, the main point here is "DRIVE CAREFULLY" to evoid human error!
Paul,
Maybe the ABS modulator is redesigned to apply pressure on the brakeline as well..
well the european and american markets dont have the same type of "ah beng" or "ah seng" workshops. They usually are quite complete with diagnostic equipment etc, and the cars self test themselves usually giving a warning light if anything is malfunctioning (before you find out the hard way). i think the humidity and temperature in malaysia may be the reason the electronics "die" faster there.
but there is always that 5% chance that things may go wrong in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Bit scary.
Hi Paul,
Do you know where I can install such system if my car needs one? Actually, I am interested to research into collision avoidance systems, i.e. to determine how effective is such system in improving driver's performance. Is such system limited to Nissan cars? How expensive is such system? Are there any acceptance test carried out so far?
Researcher,
hpyeow
Hi Paul,
I am interested to install such system, do you know who to contact? Is this system only for Nissan cars? Actually, I am a researcher who is investigating whether such system is practical for Malaysian drivers and whether they can reduce road accidents. Do you know who may be interested in my research?
Regards,
Dr. Paul H.P. Yeow
My company has developed and patent a passive infrared side object detection system. Functional prototypes have been tested by several car companies and we have completed our first non-exclusive license with a major Tier One supplier. It appears to me there are several people interested in this type of development through this site and I would be please to provide more information directly – [email protected].