and ensure total customer satisfaction? GM is doing it by knowing the customer better than anyone, leveraging future technology and strategic alliances, and executing better and faster than anyone else.The Thinking Vehicle-How Assistance Systems Support Drivers "Electronic crumple zone" prevents rear-end collisions Lane Assistant keeps vehicles on course Milestones on the road to accident-free driving Stuttgart, November 13, 2000The Car understands its EnvironmentDaimlerChrysler researchers and developers have a vision of "accident-free driving." They are concerned with the safety of all those involved in traffic and not just drivers. The vehicle itself should actively intervene when the driver, as a result of carelessness, inattentiveness or fatigue, makes mistakes that could cause serious accidents. The goal is to mitigate the effects of accidents or-if possible-prevent them altogether. The more information the vehicle can process on the surrounding traffic situation, the more "responsibly" the assistance systems will be able to support drivers and other traffic participants.This requires that vehicles be able to "understand" their surroundings. Cameras and microphones will join many other sensors in the vehicle to enable it to "see" and "hear" what is taking place around it. Computers will interpret the data and respond by either issuing instructions and warnings or directly intervening in the vehicle's operation.Besides assistance system functionality, research is also focusing on the legal framework and technical reliability issues in particular. Neither driver error in operating the systems nor technical defects can be allowed to increase the risk factor for the driver and passengers.New Systems for more Security in the cars. For this reason, DaimlerChrysler researchers are working on new techniques forensuring system reliability. These techniques reveal the technical risks as early as the conceptual pha...
