Ultra Reliable Detection of Imminent Collision for Enhanced Passenger Safety
Principal Investigator:
Rajesh Rajamani, Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Project Summary:
Technology that could detect a crash before it occurred would enable designers to enhance vehicle safety in a variety of ways: seat belts could pre-tighten, air bags could predictively inflate, and vehicle crush space could be enhanced by using external airbags. Crash tests have already demonstrated that internal air bags are significantly more effective if they are given an additional predictive time of even just 30 milliseconds. Current crash detection technology relies on accelerometers that detect crashes only after or during their occurrence. The goal of this project is to design and implement a new detection system that would use anisotropic magneto-resistive sensors and short-range sonar; the new system will provide ultra-reliable detection of any imminent, unavoidable crash and will also localize the position of the crash around the body of the car. The final step of the project will be to analyze the new system using simulation and to document its benefits.
Sponsors:
- ITS Institute (RITA)
Project Details:
- Start date: 08/2009
- Project Status: Active
- Research Area: Transportation Safety and Traffic Flow