The future is today. Vehicles with Bosch technology can now drive themselves automatically. Vehicles like the K.I.T.T are now a reality.
Hollywood was the first to do it: in the 1980s, the dream factory created the action series “Knight Rider” which features a talking car and – most importantly – autonomous in its driving, a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am called KITT
RELATED: Come with us for a drink of barley juice and talk about cars. Align?
Almost 30 years later, automated driving is no longer a television fantasy. “Bosch is making science fiction part of reality, one step at a time,” says Dirk Hoheisel, member of the Bosch Management Board. Cars equipped with Bosch technology are already able to drive automatically and drive autonomously in certain situations, such as in heavy traffic or when parking. One of several solutions presented at the Vehicle Intelligence Market during CES, taking place in Las Vegas.
As one of the largest providers of mobility solutions, Bosch has been working on the automated driving project since 2011 at two locations – Palo Alto, California and Abstatt, Germany. The teams at both locations can draw on a worldwide network of more than 5,000 Bosch engineers in the field of driver assistance systems. The motivation behind Bosch's development is safety. An estimated 1.3 million road traffic deaths occur each year worldwide, and the numbers continue to rise. In 90 percent of cases, human error is the cause of accidents.
From emergency braking prediction to traffic assistance
Relieving drivers from driving tasks in critical traffic situations can save lives. Studies suggest that in Germany, up to 72 percent of all rear-end collisions that result in fatalities could be avoided if all cars were equipped with Bosch's emergency braking prediction system. Drivers can also reach their destination safely and with reduced stress using Bosch's traffic assistant. At speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, the assistant automatically brakes in heavy traffic, accelerates, and keeps the car in its lane.