Bosch Australia Moves Ahead With Reverse-Gear Safety

A significant advance in child safety is coming out of Australia after Bosch engineers develop technology designed to prevent fatalities from vehicles backing out of driveways.

The supplier cites statistics that say 50 children are killed or seriously injured on Australian driveways each year. In the U.S. the figure is put at more than 15,000.

Bosch’s new back-over avoidance system will brake a vehicle automatically if a child is detected behind the car.

The technology cannot be applied to existing vehicles, but Bosch is in talks with Australian and overseas automakers for inclusion in future models. The technology could be available in new vehicles in Australia within the next two years, the supplier says.

There are many factors that contribute to back-over deaths, such as driver inability to see small children, many of whom cannot be seen through the rear window from the rearview mirror, a lack of road/vehicle safety awareness in small children and unpredictable juvenile behavior.

The groundbreaking system was designed and developed by Bosch engineers in Melbourne with the support of a grant from the Victorian and federal government’s Automotive New Markets Program.

While reversing sensors or cameras can help minimize driveway accidents, until now there has been no foolproof system in vehicles that can eliminate human error and mitigate unexpected and sudden risks while reversing.

Bosch’s system combines the vehicle’s brake system with radar and an ultrasonic sensor to automatically stop the vehicle if an object is detected when reversing.

The system also is able to distinguish between “ground objects” and people to determine whether or not the vehicle should automatically brake. The point at which the brakes are applied is calibrated to the vehicle so as to brake as late as possible to minimize false interventions.

“The Back-Over Avoidance system has been a major project over the last 18 months for the Bosch Australia Automotive safety team and we are extremely proud of this innovation,”

Bosch Australia President Gavin Smith says.

More than 1,300 people are employed by Bosch Australia, a regional subsidiary of the global Bosch Group.