A demonstration Volvo tests out the Pedestrian Safety system, which can automatically stop the car at low speeds if a crash seems to be imminent. (Volvo)
GROCKLEIGH, N.J. -- This is only a test, I tell myself. So I floor the gas pedal, fighting the instinct to hit the brakes, and aim straight at Bob, who is standing directly in front of me in a North Jersey parking lot.
Before the front bumper of the Volvo I'm driving kneecaps the poor guy, there's a warning beep, a flash of red lights above the dashboard and -- in an instant -- a lurch as the car comes to a stop. I never touched the brakes.
Bob, you'll be relieved to know, is a test dummy and my target in the trial run of a new pedestrian-crash-prevention system to be introduced on the redesigned 2011 Volvo S60. The system is the latest development in what promises to be a new generation of safety systems that go beyond simply warning drivers of impending disasters -- it actually takes control of the car to prevent them.
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- There are limitations to the system. There is no automatic braking when backing up, and engineers are still working on animal recognition.
- There are ways to override the system. If the driver steps on the gas just as the system begins to stop the car, the automatic braking will release. The system also will disengage should you swing the steering wheel left and right.
In 2008, 4,378 pedestrians were killed, and some 69,000 were injured, in traffic accidents in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That has provided a strong incentive for researchers to explore ideas such as warning systems, external air bags and softer crumple zones that might lessen the consequences of cars striking people.
Until now, the possibility of having a car actually stop itself before hitting a person had been mostly in the realm of science fiction.
The new feature, which Volvo calls the Pedestrian Safety system, identifies pedestrians (and bike riders) in front of a vehicle using a video camera similar to those of lane-departure-warning systems. The camera and its computer controls are from Mobileye, a maker of vision-based safety systems based in the Netherlands. The company is working with more than a dozen automakers, including BMW and General Motors, on similar safety systems.
The camera sits at the top edge of the windshield, in front of the rear-view mirror. It scans up to 160 feet ahead with a 45-degree-wide viewing angle, enabling it to pick out as many as 64 people. Coupled with a radar unit and software fine-tuned over 330,000 miles of testing, the system assesses the collision probability based on the direction of the car and expected path of the pedestrians.
In later attempts to ram Bob with the test vehicle, a specially outfitted Volvo XC60, the car rudely slammed on the brakes, throwing the passengers and me against our seat belts.
"When it engages, it is very harsh," confirmed Geno Effler, a Volvo spokesman. "And it's meant to be harsh."
Volvo says the system can prevent a pedestrian collision at speeds of up to 15.5 mph. That seemed a conservative estimate; as long as I kept the speed below 25 mph, Bob remained unscathed.
Unlike Volvo's complementary City Safety system, intended to prevent low-speed fender benders, the pedestrian-avoidance system works all the time, even at highway speeds. So I pressed on.
At the highest speed I tried, nearly 35 mph, the car attempted to stop, delivering a much gentler deceleration, but failed to bring the car to a halt before it tapped Bob. This action is known among researchers as accident mitigation; the car can't defy physics and go from 70 mph to zero on a dime, but it will slow down to lessen the impact.
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