Frankfurt Motor Show Update Valeo= All-round safety

Frankfurt, Germany, September 10 -- - At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Valeo Raytheon presents an innovative system that monitors the driver's blind spot

For a future-oriented automotive supplier, the idea of integrating automotive and aviation radar technology was no more than logical. After all, it had been obvious for some time that, as an integral part of intelligent systems, sophisticated sensor technology is set to make driving more enjoyable, economic and safe. So when automotive supplier Valeo joined forces with aerospace expert Raytheon in a radar joint venture, expectations were sky high.

Today the resultant joint venture company, Valeo Raytheon Systems, Inc., based in Auburn Hills, Michigan (USA), has been up and running for almost one year. At the 2003 International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt, Germany, the first concrete outcome of this alliance is making its debut in Europe: a radar-based system that monitors the driver's blind spot on both sides of the vehicle, and which goes by the name of Blind Spot Detection (BSD).

Valeo Raytheon employs a 40-strong workforce and draws on the human resources, products and services of both parent companies. Key resources in this respect are the short-range radar expertise of the new Valeo Advanced Electronics Center in Bietigheim, Germany, and the in-depth knowledge of radar systems that Raytheon offers. The outcome of these joint effort are sensors which monitor the area around a vehicle and can thus supply driver-assistance and chassis-management systems with the data they need to alert the driver or take countermeasures.

The Blind Spot Detection system alerts drivers to the presence of vehicles in their blind spot and future applications will include systems that extend the blind spot's range to provide lane change assistance for high relative speed driving situations, systems that provide warnings for crossing traffic, driver assistance systems in stop-and-go traffic, systems that detect an imminent collision, systems that warn of obstacles when visibility is limited and support systems that maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

Valeo Raytheon Systems is expecting to see rapid growth in demand for its new BSD system, with approximately one million vehicles already fitted with BSD in ten years time. The company envisages that initial supplies of original equipment for a production model will begin in 2006.

Valeo is an independent industrial group, fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks and ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group has 130 plants, 54 R&D centers, 10 distribution centers and employs some 69,000 people in 25 countries. Valeo is headquartered in Paris, France.

Raytheon Company , with 2002 sales of US$16.8 billion, is an industry leader in defense, government and commercial electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon employs more than 76,000 people worldwide.