This year, Mercedes presents the radical ESF 2009, its first dedicated experimental safety car since 1974. Based on the new Mercedes S400 Hybrid sedan (on sale now in Europe; coming soon to American showrooms), the ESF 2009 packs a dizzying array of occupant-protection gizmos designed not only to allow occupants walk away from a crash, but to help them avoid one in the first place.
Air-bag technology figures prominently in the Mercedes ESF 2009. The car has plenty of inflatable parts—in the usual locations, of course, but also in places you might not expect. There’s a curtain air bag that drops down between the seats to prevent occupants from knocking heads during a side impact and air bags on the seatbelts that more evenly distribute deceleration force across the wearer’s chest. The Mercedes ESF 2009 also utilizes the truly newfangled “braking bag”—an air bag mounted beneath the front end of car—that inflates when a frontal collision is inevitable, slowing the car by increasing friction with the ground and keeping the front end from
diving during hard braking and possibly plowing underneath the rear end of a larger vehicle. And beneath its familiar S-class skin, the ESF features a series of “folded” internal metal structures that (like an air mattress, says Mercedes) inflate with an enormous and instantaneous charge of pressurized gas, providing additional structural stability during a collision.
On the crash-avoidance front, the Mercedes ESF 2009 boasts a rear-seat camera that feeds to a dash-mounted display, to monitor kids’ doings without having to glance over your shoulder; tire sidewalls are made of highly reflective material for better nighttime visibility; and headlamps that incorporate a “spotlight” function that (with the car’s thermal-imaging Night View system) identifies and shines a beam of light at potential hazards on or just off the road—like a wayward deer or a pedestrian. And because it takes a village, a clever two-way radio system allows the ESF instantly to relay pertinent data about road conditions—an icy patch, for instance, as detected by its antilock braking system—to other cars on the road, allowing drivers behind to slow down, change lanes, or take some other evasive action.
Doubtless, a few of these new-age safety features (there are more than a dozen) are destined to be recalled as little more than concept-car flights of fancy. But if Mercedes-Benz history is a guide, much of the Mercedes ESF 2009’s advanced thinking will land in a production vehicle before long. And for somebody—maybe even you—that could be a lifesaver.
In Summary
The Mercedes-Benz ESF 2009 essentially features 5 key new safety elements which are the following:
* PRE-SAFE Structure –
The inflatable metal structures save weight or increase the stability of structural components. When at rest, the metal section is in a folded state to save space. If its protective effect is required, a gas generator builds up an internal pressure of 10 to 20 bar within fractions of a second, causing the section to unfold for significantly more stability.
* Braking Bag –
If the car’s sensor system concludes that an impact is unavoidable, the Braking Bag located under the car is deployed shortly before the crash and stabilises the car on the road surface by means of a friction coating. The vehicle’s vertical acceleration increases the friction, and helps to decelerate the vehicle before the impact occurs.
* Interactive Vehicle Communication –
The Mercedes ESF 2009 is able to communicate directly with other vehicles, or via relay stations. Using “ad hoc” networks and Wi-Fi radio technology, it is e.g. able to receive and transmit warnings of bad weather or obstacles in the road.
* PRE-SAFE Pulse –
It reduces the forces acting on the torsos of the occupants during a lateral collision by around one third. It does this by moving them towards the center of the vehicle by up to 50mm as a precautionary measure. As an active restraint system, it uses the air chambers in the side bolsters of the seat backrests.
* Spotlight lighting function –
This partial LED main beam specifically illuminates potential hazards. If the infrared camera of Night View Assist PLUS e.g. detects animals like deer at the roadside or pedestrians on the road, these can be briefly illuminated beyond the normal area covered by the main beams, as if by a spotlight.
