Mercedes E-Class will introduce futuristic safety
If you haven’t already watched the self parking video demonstration on the upcoming Mercedes E-Class, do that here.
Understandably Mercedes is using that as its marketing bullet (to counter the exposure on BMW 7-Series) but is also exploring ways to improve self driving technology and accident-free driving. The two overlap on many regards.
A Mercedes insider added, “safety, comfort and stress relief are becoming increasingly intertwined,” the company says. These “cross system concepts” are summarised as being designed to “provide stress relief during normal driving, detect dangers, warn, assist and intervene in time” and “prevent or reduce the severity of accidents. ‘Car-to-X’ communication is also being pioneered on the Mercedes E-Class; the first step in cars being able to detect and communicate with each other over short distances.”
Many of these systems have been fitted to the S-Class but there has been a gentle evolution to make them more reliable and consistent. Active brake, evasive steering (in conjunction with pedestrian detection) and active cruise (with steering input) are just some of the driver aids controlled through the car’s litany of sensors and radars.
Active safety is how the Mercedes E-Class will revolutionise the segment. Seat bolsters will automatically inflate milliseconds before impact, forcing driver and passenger towards the centre and away from danger. Mercedes is even confident to have found a way of minimising the damage to one’s ear from the sound caused by airbags. To mitigate the airbag noise, a short sound is emitted just before the airbags deploy, triggering the ear’s Stapedius reflex and causing the inner ear to contract.
