Advanced Brake Assist – Real World Effectiveness of Current Implementations and Next Generation Enlargements by Mercedes-Benz

The conventional Brake Assist System (BAS) was developed by Mercedes-Benz and became standard equipment of all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in 1997. In its further development it was supplemented by radar sensors and adaptive brake assist functions to address rear-end collisions. Advanced Brake Assistance Systems were introduced by Mercedes-Benz in the S-Class model 221 in the year 2005 (adaptive brake assist) and completed in 2006 (autonomous partial braking), 2009 (autonomous full braking) and 2011 (expansion of the limits of the functions). After several years of proving itself in real world accidents situations it is time to compare the prognosis of its real-world effectiveness in avoiding or mitigating the severity of rear-end collisions with the real-world results as well as discussing the expected effectiveness of the enlargements of the advanced brake assist systems to new accident situations. The paper compares the former prognosis of real-world effectiveness of the systems in avoiding rear-end collisions or mitigating their severity with results of the latest analysis based on actual crash data, Field Operational Test (FOT), insurance data and others. It will be proved that the prognosis was confirmed or exceeded in some cases. A method for a lifetime analysis will be proposed. Advanced technologies in environmental sensing, situational perception and new actuators that allow individual situation-based interventions in braking, in steering or in controlling the chassis characteristics offer new options for the enhancement of automotive safety.