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Cars That Call 911, Extinguish Fires and Help Save Lives

2 February 2000

Cars That Call 911, Extinguish Fires and Help Save Lives; Future Safety Concepts Unveiled at SAE 2000 World Congress

    WARRENDALE, Pa., Feb. 2 -- Your car crashes.  The airbags
deploy.  The vehicle automatically calls 911.  What, a car that can make phone
calls?  Yes, and there are many more safety features of future cars equipped
with an Integrated Safety System (ISS).
    In a SAE 2000 World Congress paper, Delphi Automotive Systems engineers
will discuss ISS in depth.
    Innovative technologies are making vehicles safer each year.  But
unfortunately, despite all the new safety features, some crashes will still
happen.  That's where vehicles equipped with ISS can help save your life.
If you are in an accident, your vehicle dials 911 to summon help.  If you can
communicate with the dispatcher, injury reports can be passed on to
paramedics; if you can't communicate, on-board biosensors will assess the
situation.
    ISS vehicles can detect and extinguish fires, release seatbelts and unlock
car doors.  Automatic shut-off of the fuel pump and engine prevents fires
caused by ruptured fuel lines.  If an accident occurs at night, the car
becomes illuminated and flashes warning lights.
    Numerous sensors on the vehicle tell rescuers how bad the accident is.
Did the airbags deploy?  Did the vehicle roll over?  What is the resting
position of the vehicle?  How many people are in the car?  What are the vital
signs of these people?  Is there a fuel leak?  Is there a fire?
    Automotive safety systems have evolved over the past 20 years --
everything from seatbelts to airbags -- technologies developed to save lives
after an accident occurs.  Later, preventive measures such as improving
visibility, windshield wipers, tire traction, etc. were added to reduce the
probability of getting into an accident.
    The Delphi authors describe five vehicle driving scenarios in their paper:
normal driving, warning, crash avoidable, crash unavoidable and post event
states, and provide examples of how ISS works in each scenario to maximize
safety.
    "An Integrated Approach to Automotive Safety Systems" will be presented at
2 p.m., Monday, March 6, Room 02-33, Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
    To attend SAE 2000, the world's largest showcase of automotive engineering
technologies, visit http://www.sae.org or call 1-877-SAE-CONG (723-2664); outside the
U.S. and Canada, 1-724-772-4027.  Or experience the event on-line at
http://www.sae.org.