---

Autoliv Awarded Contracts for Advanced Vehicle Rollover Sensors

11 September 2000

Autoliv Awarded Production Contracts for Over 1.2 Million Advanced Vehicle Rollover Sensors AUTOLIV ROLLOVER SENSOR Autoliv Advanced Rollover Sensor. (PRNewsFoto)[PM] AUBURN HILLS, MI USA 09/11/2000    

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 11 Autoliv, Inc. announced
today, production contract awards for its new rollover sensor to be installed
in over 1.2 million North American vehicles starting with the 2004 model Year.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000911/DEM007 )
    "We are very excited about the benefit this product will provide society
in reducing the number of fatalities and serious injuries caused by vehicle
rollovers," said Steve Fredin (Autoliv's director of engineering for North
America).  "This sensor is a technological breakthrough.  It enables rollover
countermeasures such as the side curtain airbag and seatbelt pretensioners to
be installed in vehicles and activated in a timely manner."
    Autoliv has proved that an imminent vehicle rollover can be accurately
sensed and predicted before lateral momentum forces the occupant against the
inside of the door.  This is critical in order to activate a protective side
airbag device, like the inflatable curtain, between the occupant's head and
the side door glass.  In many cases this requires knowing that a vehicle
rollover is imminent and deploying the inflatable curtain while all four
wheels are still on the ground!
    To overcome this challenge, Autoliv has created an integrated system of
three sensors and integrated software, which generates a timely determination
of vehicle rollover.  The new, patented, decision making logic, which is
programmed into the sensor, uses four main inputs to sense the rollover.
These inputs include initial vehicle speed, lateral and vertical acceleration,
and roll velocity.
    The roll velocity is established by Autoliv's new silicon based gyroscopic
angular-rate sensor.  This "butterfly" sensor is a high-performance, state-of-
the-art component, which has been optimized for manufacturing.  The design
effectively eliminates the complex structural elements and cost barriers that
have tended to limit gyroscopic technology for automotive applications.  The
"butterfly" works in concert with two precision accelerometers which establish
the vertical and lateral acceleration of the vehicle.