A look at the Ford safety event
Over the past few years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the uptake of technology in vehicles.
Whilst this website is primarily focused towards iPhone and Mac reviews we do sometimes have to step back and take a look at the grand picture. So to summarise that’s exactly what I did today.
I was greeted with the opportunity to spend the morning with Ford and their customer safety team looking at some of the new advances which are coming into the Ford range over the next few years.
Although it may not seem obvious for a website like this, we do try to focus on technology as best as we can and not just limit ourselves to Mac and Apple and this really was too big of a subject to miss.
Since this is technology and some pretty clever stuff too I’ve chosen to do a very in depth review of some of the technologies that were demonstrated today. If you’re looking for a short version then you’re out of luck. There isn’t one. However I think you’ll be find the post more than meaty enough.
With more and more young drivers on the road we are seeing an increased number of them being convicted or cautioned from using a mobile phone or indeed any handheld mobile device. Ignoring the fact that using a mobile phone while driving is illegal, the iPhone in particular presents a problem in the fact that there is no physical keyboard making it an even bigger distraction. Couple this with a loud radio station and or passengers in the car at the same time and it becomes very easy to see how the technology you use may provide enough of a distraction for you to have an accident while driving.
The key focus of Ford, as explained by their safety expert, is to ensure that the drivers focus is on the road at all times and this is something that we can wholly agree with. Unfortunately however distractions do occur and that’s why this safety event has been touring the country showcasing innovative new features and driver aids to help prevent accidents and also increase the convenience and pleasure of driving a motor vehicle.
Driver aids such as assisted parking, Lane assist and collision avoidance have been available for some time however few have been done well. For the ones that have been done well they are usually priced so far out of the market of the everyday consumer that you will only ever see them on prestige brands (the E-class Mercedes for example). even then, brands like Lexus had a self parking vehicle which on every video I’ve seen managers to embarrass itself. In the case of Volvo they demonstrated a collision avoidance system which resulted in a written off car and some very embarrassed faces.
Unfortunately as you can see my opinion has been somewhat coloured by past events however I was very grateful for the opportunity and I promised myself that I would enter this with an open mind.
After spending some time speaking to their safety expert it became obvious that many of my misconceptions and fears were unjustified. True, features like the active city stop and Lane assist are built upon the Volvo platform. However it’s fair to say that significant advances have been made over the past few years.
Today however Fords’ focus was on four main innovations. Active City Stop, Rear Seatbelt Airbags, Park Assist and Driver Alert.
Active City Stop
Active city stop is based on the original collision avoidance system that we saw with Volvo. However this system is designed for use in lower speeds hence the name city. The primary idea with this is that if you’re distracted in low speed, stop and start traffic or if you’re coming up behind a car stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle will bring itself to a safe stop if for instance you’re distracted or have a momentary lapse in judgement. This is not to be confused with full collision avoidance of this system is designed to work from reflective surfaces (such as that found in numberplate) and is generally designed for low speeds.
Unlike similar systems, the Ford version will not bring the vehicle to a gradual halt. This system is designed to act at the last minute was providing enough of a jolt to remind the passengers and the driver that their attention should be focused on more important matters.
Ford were kind enough to lay on a demonstration of this, both with a demonstrator and one you could try yourself. To put it mildly being told to drive the car into a wall is a somewhat unnerving experience. However it provided an effective demonstration of a very effective technology even if they were harmless foam blocks.
the key thing should be noted here however, is that this system is designed to bring the driver’s attention back to the road rather than providing some rudimentary way for someone to pay less attention at slow speeds thereby keeping the driver in control vehicle.
This technology also goes hand-in-hand with Ford’s next technology, driver alert.
Driver Alert
The driver alert system is just that. A series of complicated computer algorithms combined with a wealth of sensors mounted on the vehicle to detect when a driver is either not in full control of the vehicle or is driving tired. Indeed there are a number of studies that show that driving tired is almost as bad as driving drunk.
As you can see from the picture, the dashboard displays a small graphic depicting the traffic sign it’s on board camera just saw.
Using the vehicle mounted camera and whilst tracking the way the vehicle moves the system is able to make a decision about when the driver needs to take a break. The system will provide two warnings, a ‘yellow’ or ‘light’ warning indicating that the driver should rest soon, and a ‘red’ warning indicating that the driver should rest immediately.
There are also a number of other systems to assist the driver. Blind spot assistance where the vehicle actively monitors what’s around it, and a speed limiter. Given the number of speeding tickets that are issued these days, that last one might just be a good idea.
To further assist the driver the dashboard can also display local roadsigns that it sees through its centrally mounted camera. Additionally the steering wheel provides a physical level of feedback if you start to wander out of your lane. A system that’s been introduced before in other vehicles, however this time it seems to be done right. Rather than having a vibrating seat cushion or an audible chime the system will shake the wheel rapidly.
Rear Seatbelt Airbags
At last passengers in the back of the car finally get some attention! Well, at least in the safety department! One of Fords major new advancements is bringing rear seat belts to passengers combined with airbags. Unlike normal airbags these don’t require pyrotechnics to get them going. These, use a pressurised gas cylinder stored underneath the seat reducing the risk of contact burns. Indeed the seatbelt itself is slightly thicker which many people have reported is slightly more comfortable since it’s akin to wearing a padded seatbelt.
The real advancement here is that not only does this mean a safety device is already in contact with you, thereby reducing the risk of injury and accident, but rather surprisingly the seatbelt airbag is safe to use with a number of child seats! granted if you use the iso-fix system you won’t be using the vehicle seatbelt however if you have a seat that requires a seatbelt this will increase the safety of your child significantly.
Since the belt covers an extremely large area of your upper torso including an airbag in this reduces the risk of injury especially for those at a higher risk such as young children and the elderly. A specially designed tubular buckle allows the gas to flow into the airbag, protecting five times more of the body including head neck and chest protection.
Park Assist
This is perhaps one of the most fun and eagerly awaited demonstrations today. It’s not often you required to give up control of your vehicle whilst being in the drivers seat. fortunately however you don’t have to give up all of your control.
As I mentioned above I have many preconceptions and fears about self parking cars after seeing it poorly executed on many different vehicles with embarrassing results. As I said to the team at the event “it’ll be very interesting and exciting to see one that actually works”.
Despite my preconceptions I was pleased to see that the Park assist system was perhaps more cautious than others. Choosing to ignore a space rather than attempt it when the conditions were not quite right. when the system did take over however it left a lot of work up to the driver. This is a lot better than we might think it’s. asking the driver to give up control of the vehicle is like cutting off a limb however the Ford system asks you to control the clutch, accelerator and brakes whilst it simply does the steering. Indeed even in automatic cars the system will ask you to manually select reverse or forward gears.
Keeping this level of control allowed me to feel a lot more comfortable in allowing the system to take over. That being said it’s extremely disconcerting the first time it happens, after that it becomes very entertaining. Don’t ask me why but it does! It would certainly make a long journey far more entertaining and pleasurable knowing that this feature alone was there to greet me at the end.
It’s pretty powerful as well, needing only a space only twenty percent longer than the car itself. If you don’t parallel park that often then having just 20% more than the length of the car is enough to put me off attempting it. It’s a very small spot indeed.
All of the technology here is part of a larger system, the Driver Awareness Package with a sensor pod mounted underneath the rearview mirror. Contained within this pod is a camera (not unlike a digital video camera), a laser system and a radar system. each of these plays a specific role in all the new technologies being demonstrated today combined with front and rear parking sensors.
In fact for the first time ever I’d say that this has all been done right. As I mentioned before, we’ve seen a number of different attempts over the years but few of them seem to have worked as well as the ford system has today.
Not only have many, if not all, of my preconceptions and fears been eliminated today but Ford have taken it upon themselves to providing effective and clear demonstration of just how far they are prepared to go in the pursuit of safety.
I was genuinely impressed at each and every one of the different products I saw today and I’m confident but by the time these vehicles get the new market and second-hand market we will see a marked improvement in driving and a reduced number of insurance claims. what’s even more exciting is that at least 70% of the new Ford focus is going to be the same as every other Ford focus in the rest of the world. Keeping such commonality between different market versions of the vehicle mean that Ford can keep its costs low.
So what about the future?
Well from all this you can begin to see just how much information the vehicle is recording any one time. it’s easy to see and imagine an iPhone app or a dedicated computer program that you will be able to download your driver profile into in the near future. Not only that but with all this information and telemetry on hand it could mean the insurance companies have an easier time making a decision when it comes to final settlement claims.
Ford also have footholds in something called a smart intersection.
Whilst this is a long way off the basic principle is the information collected from the sensors used to provide the technologies mentioned above is fed to a larger network which feeds an intersection computer system which in turn monitors every other vehicle around it I communicates back to your vehicle whether it is safe to turn, continue and if someone is choosing to run a light.
In fact, because this is all one’s system the software used to make it work can easily be upgraded. Ford have already agreed a standard dataset which will be sent to the intersection and indeed intersections run by competing car companies. The standardisation practice here means that we won’t just see junctions which will work with Ford is only the junctions that may work with other manufacturers making driving one of the safest things you can do.
To me it’s overwhelming. The sheer amount of technology here and the potential for it is mind blowing and whilst not strictly falling into the category of iPhone and Mac App reviews it is simply too big a subject to miss. Especially if you are the type to occasionally pick up your iPhone and fumble away at the touchscreen when you’re rolling up to a junction.
If you spend any time walking around a car showroom at late, you will usually find yourself greeted with an iPhone or iPad application that either presents itself to assist you in the sales process, is there is an interactive brochure about the various accessories you can purchase or, if you look at the Nissan Leaf, an application that provides you with the power to manage your car whilst it’s on your driveway.
Although this event was strictly about safety, it’s easy to see how mobile applications could be introduced in the future which will us to monitor how we drive, our safety as well is how eco-friendly we are being. Let’s face it, we’ve all got our families to think of and safety is no laughing matter.
This feature was originally published on apptacious.com by me on Friday the 26th of August 2011
