Human Factor a Plus in Vehicle Safety, BMW Exec Says

TOKYO – Consistent with its assertive image, BMW’s drive to make safer cars emphasizes active technology but at the same time does not ignore passive-safety features, the automaker’s top safety official says.

WardsAuto recently interviewed Klaus Kompass, vice president-vehicle safety at BMW. Following are excerpts of the interview:

WardsAuto: What future do you see for autonomous driving evolving?

Kompass: Autonomous or automatic driving is very attractive for certain dedicated situations such as traffic congestion and searching for a parking space. In both cases, I can easily give away these tasks to the car. There are other situations where I want to be in the driver’s seat and do the driving myself.

In this regard, safety will probably be a second benefit of autonomous driving. This is because the system must be much better than the human driver.

We talk about 80% or 90% of accidents being caused by human error, but no one talks about the accidents that the human driver avoids. While the human driver makes mistakes, he also avoids many accidents. So we have to be extremely careful about replacing the driver with a technical system.

The human being is fantastic sensor and analyzer. He is probably the best we have today at analyzing a complete situation with the blink of an eye. We don’t have technical systems that can do that, at least not ready for installation in a car.

WardsAuto: But there are cases when the so-called technical system prevents accidents, aren’t there?

Kompass: Of course: If the driver falls asleep at the wheel or if he’s distracted and diverts attention from the road. In these cases, technical systems are better.

WardsAuto: Are BMW’s safety technologies focused more on supporting the driver as opposed to taking over the driving function from him?

Kompass: It’s more complicated. First, BMW calls autonomous driving automatic driving. We have several levels of automation, including partially automated, where various driver-assistance technologies support the driver but the driver maintains control of the vehicle.

The next level is highly automated driving. There, the driver can relax and perform other tasks for several minutes. The system has to be highly intelligent and know when to call the driver back to pay attention.

Finally, we have fully automated driving, which is equivalent to autonomous driving. The car drives by itself.

The differences between highly and partially automated driving are substantial – legally, acceptance-wise and in terms of technology.

Legally, partially automated driving is now possible. Highly automated driving is not.

WardsAuto: How does BMW’s safety strategy differ from other European OEMs’?

Kompass: Safety is an extremely high priority in all of our development and production, in everything we do frankly. We don’t promote our passive-safety activities like many competitors, at least in BMW commercials. We don’t advertise airbags, for instance. That said, we believe we’re as good as or better than other auto makers.

Active safety is different because it involves driving dynamics where we want to be No.1. Active safety and collision avoidance are part of driving dynamics. We communicate this more intensively to our customers.

With respect to stability control, our approach is to avoid either extreme – too much or too little control. We want the car to be sporty and dynamic, yet still have advanced safety features.

WardsAuto: What is BMW’s roadmap for introducing ITS or intelligent transport technologies?

Kompass: We don’t have a roadmap per se, but generally decisions regarding new technologies are purpose-driven. For instance, we see DSRC or dedicated short-range communications as the ultimate solution for connected driving.

That said, for DSRC to be effective, we need a large number of cars to be equipped with the technology so they can talk to each other. And that won’t happen soon.

As a result, we will focus on existing technology centering around cell phones. Most BMW cars already have extensive cellular-based functionality through our connected-drive programs. Thus, it would be foolish not to use that capability. It clearly will be faster than waiting for DSRC to spread.

WardsAuto: Can you give any examples?

Kompass: We are involved in a project called COTEC (Adaptive and Cooperative Technologies for Intelligent Traffic) in which we are trying to adapt radio-frequency identification devices or RFIDs for safety applications.

Even children carry cell phones today. So modifying a cell phone to include an RFID is relatively easy. We can get RFID information into the public in a cost-effective way and, at the same time, improve pedestrian safety.

Of course we also have cameras, radar systems and ultrasonic sensors that can detect a pedestrian as soon as he crosses a street. But in situations where the pedestrian is not yet visible because he’s hidden by a parked car or some other obstacle, we have limited time to alert the driver. So, earlier information about pedestrian movements would be helpful.

WardsAuto: Are there any other factors impacting the introduction of new technologies?

Kompass: We are approaching a situation where the various new-car assessment programs require active-safety systems to achieve its 5-star rating (Euro NCAP’s highest score).

Lane-departure warning and automatic braking are among the first systems needed to earn five stars. And Euro-NCAP now requires a specific take rate for those features, speeding up the implementation process.

Although BMW’s strategy varies by country and function, we try to introduce advanced features into lower-grade models wherever possible. But it is also true that our upper grades usually get them first.

WardsAuto: Is achieving zero fatalities possible?

Kompass: No. Many years ago we talked about total quality management and zero defects. TQM, as we called it, was a hyped word. Of course we want to achieve zero defects and zero failures. It’s always good to set targets. But everybody knew that it could never be achieved.

The same with zero fatalities. It is simply not possible to prevent every accident on the road. But we can make improvements, and we have made substantial improvements.

In the 1970s, for instance, we regularly reported 20,000 traffic fatalities annually in the old Germany (before reunification). We had 20 million fewer people than today. Yet last year, we had only 3,600 traffic fatalities.

WardsAuto: How quickly do you expect to see camera costs come down?

Kompass: We expect prices to fall another 50%-60% over the next three to five years with expanded usage. But don’t forget that cameras for cars are more expensive than for iPhones and iPads. Temperature, vibration and other operating conditions are more severe.

WardsAuto: How many cameras and sensors do you expect to be added as automakers move into more advanced safety fields?

Kompass: Our new X5 is equipped with six or seven cameras, four radars, seven ultrasonic sensors plus an infrared camera. We expect to add several more cameras in the future.

WardsAuto: Do you consider the Japanese regulatory environment user-friendly for approving new safety technologies?

Kompass: Actually, yes. Japan is much more open in accepting systems that are still not completely fine-tuned. Customers (in Japan) would rather have the newest innovation than the tenth circle of improvement, which is different than in Europe where the system has to be perfect before you can hand it over.

WardsAuto: Is this partly the result of lower product-liability claims than in Europe and the U.S.?

Kompass: Exactly.