Delphi Continues to Up-Integrate Safety Systems to Bring Down Total Cost
Delphi's Ingenuity in Safety Systems Will Help Automakers Provide Integrated Systems for More Cars
TROY, Mich., Oct. 18 -- Today, Delphi Corp. showcased how up-integrating safety systems can add significant value to customers and OEMs at the 2006 International Convergence Conference in Detroit. Delphi is demonstrating a portion of its integrated safety portfolio at booth #100 Cobo Center, Wayne Hall.
"We know that cost is a barrier to bringing some advanced safety technologies to market, so we are looking at ways of making them less costly," said Robert Schumacher, Delphi advanced product & business development executive. "Specifically, we are showing how to get multiple uses from a single camera. This adds value because the OEM gets multiple safety functions without adding multiple different components."
Delphi demonstrated how a single integrated CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera provides multiple safety enhancements at a lower cost than independent systems. Delphi's expertise and intellectual properties in vision systems hardware and algorithms enables a single camera to function as lane departure warning, intelligent head light control, active night vision, and pedestrian recognition. The system also enables feature and functional growth in areas like road sign recognition, rain sensing, headlight rotation and integration with side alert.
Delphi's unique approach provides a scalable architecture that allows for a customized feature set using common hardware for the automakers. In addition, a single camera also simplifies vehicle packaging while providing multi-system functionality. It also eliminates standalone products that can clutter the windshield or instrument panel.
Featured Delphi technologies enabled by one camera at Convergence include: Lane Departure Warning
Lane Departure Warning helps alert drivers when lane markers are unintentionally crossed. A camera mounted behind the windshield detects roadway lane markings. Delphi's image processing algorithms and state estimation techniques detect and track lane boundaries.
Rain Sensing
The same camera operates the rain sensing function that activates wipers when moisture is detected on the windshield.
Intelligent Headlight Control
Using the single camera for this control also eliminates the existing day/night sensor. The system automatically dims headlights for on-coming traffic and when approaching vehicles from the rear. It also automatically activates the high beams according to lighting and traffic conditions.
Active Night Vision
Active night vision uses near infrared headlamps to illuminate the road scene ahead and the image that is displayed in the vehicle. This system provides more natural looking images to the driver than thermal vision systems and allows non-thermal intense objects like trees and lane markers to be visible. In addition, the system provides high-beam visibility without blinding on-coming traffic.
Pedestrian Recognition
The camera also enables pedestrian recognition, a system that detects and classifies pedestrians. It predicts potential pedestrian impact and activates countermeasures to mitigate injuries. Pedestrian protection technologies are gaining much attention in Europe and other countries with densely populated cities.
Protection and Prevention
Delphi's portfolio includes both passive safety and active safety products. Passive safety products include safety belts, airbags and antilock brakes, which are designed to help decrease injuries for vehicle occupants in a crash. Delphi's active safety products are designed to help prevent the accident from occurring. The products are all designed around the philosophy that "the best accident is the one that never happens but if an accident does occur systems are in place to help protect the occupants."
The results of automotive industry studies have shown that giving a driver just one extra second of warning time can help prevent many accidents. Delphi's vision is to place sensors on all four sides of the vehicle to help alert drivers and give them that additional time to react.
"Delphi has put many years of research and work into these technologies that help drivers when there is an accident and to help prevent accidents," said Tim Hamashuk, Delphi North American safety executive. "We are proud of the technological hurdles we have accomplished that allow our products to help make vehicles and roads safer, as well as, the positive social impact in helping to preserve lives."
New Delphi safety products that are on display at Convergence include: Dual-Depth Passenger Airbag
One of the concerns in vehicle safety has been the safety of smaller passengers riding in the front passenger seat.
Delphi's Dual-Depth Passenger Airbag adjusts the size of the airbag and its inflation characteristics to match the front seat occupant's needs. It is designed to enhance protection of front seat passengers -- no matter what their size -- in moderate or severe crash situations. This is done by regulating the inflation of the airbag to correspond to the severity of the accident.
Airbag size and inflation can be determined using the size of the occupant, seat belt usage, and crash severity and crash direction. If a smaller person is detected in the passenger seat, the airbag is capable of deploying as a small, low-pressure bag. If the occupant is larger the same bag is capable of deploying a larger high-pressure bag.
The dual-depth airbag fits into a conventional airbag package and does not require any architecture changes by the vehicle maker.
Pre-Crash Sensing and Resettable Pretensioning Seat Belt Retractor
Delphi's Resettable Pretensioning Seat Belt Retractor removes slack from the seat belt to improve the occupant's position in the event of a crash. Delphi's Pre-Crash Sensing System signals a motorized retractor with pulse width modulator motor controller.
In case of an accident, the pre-crash sensing feature determines the trajectory of the oncoming target, time of impact, impact velocity and point of impact. The system uses this information to initiate the appropriate safety countermeasures to help protect occupants, such as to pretension the seat belts and active braking.
Multi-Function Steering Wheel Controls
Delphi's reconfigurable steering wheel controls allow drivers to perform multiple functions from the steering wheel including adjusting the radio, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, cell phone and some navigation functions. The new concept provides fingertip control from a scroll switch mounted behind the spoke of the wheel. The new wheel is designed to help drivers keep their eyes on the road and provide better ergonomics, with fewer switches required to control more functions.
Delphi Forewarn(R) Infrared Side Alert System
Motorists changing lanes or engaging in other maneuvers face challenges from blind spots that exist to the sides of most vehicles. While vehicle designers are working to eliminate these blind spots, Delphi's active safety technologies can help mitigate their impact.
Delphi provides its low-cost Forewarn Infrared Side Alert system to help alert drivers to vehicles in their side blind spots when changing lanes. When a moving vehicle is detected entering the side blind spot, a visual alert is provided via an illuminated icon in the side view mirror.
Delphi uses infrared sensors to help alert the driver to vehicles or objects in adjacent lanes. Each infrared side alert unit contains two passive infrared thermopile sensors that measure adjacent lane temperatures over time. Any significant change in the measurement between the two sensors indicates the presence of an object.
The infrared side alert system is a high quality system that can be integrated into existing vehicle features like rear taillights, side marker lamps or the bumper fascia. Delphi's infrared system ignores stationary roadside objects to minimize false alarms. The Delphi infrared side-alert system monitors areas up to 3 meters laterally and 6 meters long based upon the mechanical mounting position and the optics defined for a field of view. The system works well in both daylight and darkness and under adverse weather conditions.
Forewarn(R) Lane Departure Warning
According to NHTSA data, more than 40 percent of U.S. vehicle-related fatalities (more than 18,000 people) are caused by unintentional lane/road departure. The societal impact of all collisions including unintentional lane departure is more than $230 billion, or $820 per person in the United States.
Delphi's Forewarn vision-based Lane Departure Warning system will assist in alerting the driver should the vehicle start to drift out of its lane, helping to greatly reduce one of the largest causes of vehicle collisions. The system uses a digital camera, typically mounted in the rear view mirror housing, to look up to 25 meters ahead of the vehicle. This data is supplemented by vehicle speed and yaw data (so the computer knows if the vehicle is turning) collected from other systems via the vehicle's high-speed data bus.
A number of warning strategies could be implemented depending on vehicle manufacturer preference. These include visual, audible and haptic warnings or any combination of these and other options. In the more distant future, where vehicles are fitted with active steering, the system will even help adjust the line of the car to maintain a safe course.
Forewarn(R) Drowsy Driver Alert and Driver Distraction Alert
Results of studies have shown that driver fatigue is one of the main causes of vehicle crashes. Delphi's Forewarn Drowsy Alert and Driver Distraction Alert systems can help eliminate some of those accidents by analyzing a driver's condition and, if necessary, providing countermeasures to alert the driver of a potentially dangerous situation.
Delphi's Drowsy Driver Alert and Driver Distraction Alert systems use a monocular camera sensing system located in the instrument panel of the vehicle. The drowsy driver system monitors eye closures over a period of time to determine the driver's state.
Driver Distraction Alert, meanwhile, monitors the driver's level of visual distraction by tracking a driver's gaze and head position, which will stray from the forward position for an extended period of time during a distraction situation.
Based on the level of distraction or drowsiness, the system applies stimuli to help alert the driver of the situation. Delphi is aggressively targeting the commercial market for this technology.
For more information about Delphi Corporation (Pink Sheets: DPHIQ), visit http://www.delphi.com/ .
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This press release, as well as other statements made by Delphi may contain forward-looking statements within the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that reflect, when made, the company's current views with respect to current events and financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are and will be, as the case may be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the company's operations and business environment which may cause the actual results of the company to be materially different from any future results, express or implied, by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: the ability of the company to continue as a going concern; the ability of the company to operate pursuant to the terms of the debtor-in-possession ("DIP") financing facility; the company's ability to obtain court approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 proceeding prosecuted by it from time to time; the ability of the company to develop, prosecute, confirm and consummate one or more plans of reorganization with respect to the Chapter 11 cases; risks associated with third parties seeking and obtaining court approval to terminate or shorten the exclusivity period for the company to propose and confirm one or more plans of reorganization, for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee or to convert the cases to chapter 7 cases; the ability of the company to obtain and maintain normal terms with vendors and service providers; the company's ability to maintain contracts that are critical to its operations; the potential adverse impact of the Chapter 11 cases on the company's liquidity or results of operations; the ability of the company to execute its business plans, including the transformation plan described in the Company's March 31, 2006 press release, and to do so in a timely fashion; the ability of the company to attract, motivate and/or retain key executives and associates; the ability of the company to avoid or continue to operate during a strike, or partial work stoppage or slow down by any of its unionized employees; and the ability of the company to attract and retain customers. Other risk factors are listed from time to time in the company's United States Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including, but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005, and current reports on Form 8-K. Delphi disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events and/or otherwise.
Similarly, these and other factors, including the terms of any reorganization plan ultimately confirmed, can affect the value of the company's various pre-petition liabilities, common stock and/or other equity securities. Additionally, no assurance can be given as to what values, if any, will be ascribed in the bankruptcy proceedings to each of these constituencies. A plan of reorganization could result in holders of Delphi's common stock receiving no distribution on account of their interest and cancellation of their interests. Under certain conditions specified in the Bankruptcy Code, a plan of reorganization may be confirmed notwithstanding its rejection by an impaired class of creditors or equity holders and notwithstanding the fact that equity holders do not receive or retain property on account of their equity interests under the plan. In light of the foregoing and as stated in its October 8, 2005, press release announcing the filing of its Chapter 11 reorganization cases, the company considers the value of the common stock to be highly speculative and cautions equity holders that the stock may ultimately be determined to have no value. Accordingly, the company urges that appropriate caution be exercised with respect to existing and future investments in Delphi's common stock or other equity interests or any claims relating to pre-petition liabilities.
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