|
OUR
visit to the
Nissan Advance
Technology Center during the recent 40th Tokyo Motor
Show was an eye-opener for many participants.
Nissan
has made several advancements in the area of safety.
Unbeknown to many, however, it wants to attain its
vision of substantially zero accidents involving its
cars by the year 2015.
According to Nissan, “The concept of a safety vehicle
takes many forms, from engineering vehicles that help
drivers avoid accidents, to protecting drivers and
passengers in the case of accidents, to helping reduce
injuries in the event of collisions with pedestrians, to
reducing traffic congestion and heightening people’s
awareness of traffic safety. It is actively involved in
finding solutions that address all of these wide-ranging
areas—an approach that begins by continually analyzing
actual traffic accident data involving Nissan vehicles
in
Japan
and in other parts of the world.”
In
addition to enhancing safety functions at the vehicle
level, Nissan has launched the SKY Project that uses
Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technologies to ease
traffic congestion and improve safety. Nissan is also
engaged in a variety of educational activities to raise
people’s awareness of traffic safety, particularly
drivers’ awareness. Among these are:
§
Safety
Shield.
Since 2004, Nissan has incorporated its “Safety Shield”
concept into vehicle-development activities. This
advanced, proactive approach to safety classifies
driving risks and accidents into six areas, from
“prerisk” to “postaccident.” The Safety Shield
philosophy focuses on ways to support drivers in helping
to avoid potentially dangerous situations through the
development of systems that first provide drivers with
the appropriate information, then allow the vehicles to
react accurately to his or her intentions. Should an
accident become unavoidable, Nissan has designed
vehicles and vehicle systems that intervene to help
minimize injuries and damage.
§
Advanced
Driver-Support Technologies.
Nissan aims to engineer vehicles that are enjoyable to
drive and enrich people’s lives while, at the same time,
embodying high levels of safety and reliability to give
customers peace of mind. It has developed a number of
advanced production technologies.
§
Around
View Monitor.
Nissan’s safety vision includes several systems that
enhance or “extend” a driver’s vision, especially when
parking or backing up. Nissan’s new Around View Monitor
provides images to the driver of the complete area
around the vehicle. Taken by four high-resolution,
180-degree wide-angle cameras mounted at the front, rear
and on both sides of the vehicle, these images are
synthesized and shown on an instrument panel display,
giving the driver a “bird’s-eye view” of what is
occurring outside of the vehicle.
§
Distance
Control Assist System.
Nissan’s new Distance Control Assist System (DCAS)
utilizes a radar sensor mounted at the front of the
vehicle, which measures the distance to another vehicle
in front of another vehicle, as well as the preceding
vehicle’s relative speed. This combination of
information assists the driver in maintaining a suitable
distance when following another vehicle. For example, if
the driver is not pressing the accelerator, the DCAS
smoothly applies the brakes when the Nissan approaches
another car too closely. If the driver is pressing the
accelerator and approaches another car too quickly, the
system generates a force to lift the pedal, assisting
the driver in releasing the accelerator. In the event
that the DCAS judges that braking is necessary by the
driver because the preceding vehicle has slowed down, it
issues audible and visual alerts.
§
Advanced
Pedestrian Safety Technologies.
Along with a commitment to help reduce serious injuries
to vehicle occupants, Nissan is also developing new
pedestrian safety technologies, such as impact-absorbing
body structures, to help reduce pedestrian injuries in
the event of unavoidable car-pedestrian collisions. The
energy-absorbing capacities of the hood, front fenders
and cowl of many Nissan vehicles have been improved to
help mitigate impact to a pedestrian’s head, and
energy-absorbing materials have been applied to front
bumpers to mitigate the impact to pedestrians’ legs. The
application of this technology is now being steadily
expanded to more Nissan model lines.
§
Pop-up
Engine Hood.
The latest Nissan safety technology developed in the
area of enhanced pedestrian safety is a new “pop-up
engine hood” design. When sensors embedded in the front
bumper detect an impact with a pedestrian, the control
unit of the pop-up hood determines if the hood needs to
be instantly raised. If deemed necessary, the control
unit activates a pyrotechnic actuator that raises the
rear edge of the hood, creating a larger protective
buffer space between the hood and hard engine components
underneath. This helps cushion the impact to the
pedestrian’s head if it collides with the hood. |
