Mercedes’ New Experimental Safety Vehicle Points Towards The Future

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a new concept named the Experimental Safety Vehicle prior its making its official premiere at the ESV convention in the Netherlands and the Frankfurt Auto Show in September.

The Experimental Safety Vehicle is based on the latest GLE and offers a glimpse at some future safety technologies that will be introduced to Merc’s mass-market production vehicles.

The German car manufacturer has designed the concept to be fully-autonomous and, in self-driving mode, the steering wheel and pedals all retract to reduce the risk of injury in a crash. The retracting steering wheel has also allowed Mercedes-Benz to install the driver airbag into the dashboard.

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The Experimental Safety Vehicle also focuses on the safety of children onboard and includes the Pre-Safe Child system. This involves the seat belt of the child seat being preventively tensioned and side-mounted impact protection elements automatically extended before a crash.

Meanwhile, the advanced Active Brake Assist system an is able to detect pedestrians and cyclists around corners who are moving in the same direction of travel as the car. If it “decides” that an impact with a pedestrian or cyclist is imminent, the driver receives a visual and audible warning. If they fail to react, autonomous braking is initiated. Mercedes has also improved its cross-traffic safety system which, for example, would prevent the vehicle from hitting cyclists in its blind spot by preventing the driver from unintentionally cutting off the cyclist and if necessary, stopping the vehicle through autonomous braking.

Elsewhere, the automaker has fitted the Experimental Safety Vehicle with a host of features designed to ensure those around the vehicle are safe. For example, the front grille includes a display which informs pedestrians of what the vehicle intends to do. Additionally, Mercedes has envisioned a small robot which could automatically emerge from the vehicle’s rear following an incident and position itself at the roadside as a warning triangle.