BMW helps out with SmartSenior project
June 6th, 2009 | | RajivThe Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany has recently launched a research project titled SmartSenior, which is all about developing intelligent services for senior citizens, to make life easier and safer for them.
Among the areas the initiative focuses on are intelligent, location-independent emergency recognition and assistance systems which allow senior citizens to feel safe and secure on the road. BMW is now involved in the SmartSenior initiative through the development of an Emergency Stop Assistant, which enhances road safety in the event of a medical emergency.
To this end, the engineers have set out to develop an assistance system which automatically activates an autonomous driving mode when it detects that the driver has a serious medical problem, and carries out a controlled emergency stop.
In simple terms, in the event of a medical emergency, the car automatically switches on its hazard warning lights and manoeuvres carefully – taking into account the traffic around it – to the outer edge of the road, before drawing to a standstill. At the same time, an emergency call is sent out containing the data required to initiate the necessary medical and traffic-related assistance measures.
This enables the provision of effective emergency care tailored to the situation at hand. ‘In order to keep a limit on the variety of possible driving situations, which vary infinitely in complexity, we are developing the prototype of our Emergency Stop Assistant initially for use on motorways and sections of roads resembling motorways,’ explains a BMW spokesperson.
BMW’s emergency stop assistance system is based both on sensors designed to monitor vital data and on existing BMW ConnectedDrive assistance systems. The BMW Group has, for example, offered an emergency call function for ten years now.
In addition to precise position location and information on the vehicle, since 2007, the emergency call has also included information on the accident the vehicle has been involved in. The rescue services are therefore not only able to pinpoint where the vehicle is located and to identify it by model and colour, they also have information on the number of occupants in the vehicle and the severity of any injuries.
[Via: indiaautomotive]