Mercedes full speed ahead on brakes breakthrough

MERCEDES-Benz is developing a new electro-hydraulic brake system which it believes will be the most significant safety development since anti-lock brakes.

The company displayed the system at the recent Tokyo motor show and plans its production debut with the Mercedes SLR coupe, which will be built by McLaren in the UK from 2003.

Called Sensortronic Brake System (SBS), the new development controls the amount of brake pressure being applied to each wheel individually, according to load or road conditions.

For example, if the car is cornering or one side is on dirt and the other on bitumen, more braking will be applied to the wheels with more load.

SBS utilises the sensors of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) and Mercedes' own Electronic Stability Program (ESP) to assess the pressure required and apply it through a central hydraulic unit, which replaces the conventional brake booster.

ESP is a complex car control system which measures wheel speed, braking pressure, steering angle, lateral acceleration and yaw (rotation around the vertical axis) to detect skids or slides. It then applies the brakes at any wheel or wheels to restore stability.

Unlike ABS, which simply reduces the amount of pressure going to any wheel at the point of locking up, the new SBS system constantly feeds the proportional amount of braking pressure to reduce the likelihood of lock-up.

MEANWHILE, another piece of interesting Mercedes-Benz safety technology is already available on the latest S-class models.

Called Linguatronic and costing $1250, it is a voice-activated command system for using mobile or on-board telephones without having to take your hands off the wheel.

The driver is able to make a call simply by giving the appropriate command and calling out the number required - or one of 50 names which can be programmed into the personal phone book.

The software is so sophisticated that it can adjust to the individual speaking style of the user and can be programmed to recognise a broad accent - including 'Strine'.