Consortium for automotive safety systems formated

Leading automotive systems and component suppliers of the Safe-by-Wire consortium including Analog Devices Inc, Autoliv Inc, Delphi Corporation, Key Safety Systems, Philips, Special Devices Inc, TRW Automotive, as well as Robert Bosch, Siemens VDO Automotive and Continental Temic (BST) today announced the formation of the Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium to combine their experience and knowledge in defining a global standard for networking automotive occupant safety systems for the benefit of automotive manufacturers and consumers. The goal of the consortium is to combine what have been two independent and competing automotive safety bus standards, one developed by the Safe-by-Wire consortium and the other by the BST group into a single global standard that captures the best features from each implementation. Through component standardization, the Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium expects to help reduce development costs and extend the benefits of economies of scale to automotive manufacturers, thus allowing more efficient integration of advanced safety features. This will ultimately contribute toward safer vehicles. "There are continual advancements in current safety systems and in the introduction of new ones as consumer's demand for enhanced automotive occupant safety increases" said Kevin Forbes, Senior Project Engineer, Core Passive Safety Electronics at Daimler Chrysler. "The industry needs to take a hard look at component standardization as a way to keep a rein on system cost, while giving the consumer the enhanced safety features that new technology can offer. The formation of the Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium is a positive step in this direction for the global automotive industry." said Mr Forbes. The Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium is planning to release version 2.0 of the Automotive Safety Restraints Bus specification (ASRB 2.0) in September this year. It will be based on the existing Safe-by-Wire ASRB 1.0 specification while incorporating some of the concepts from the work that has been conducted by BST. The ASRB 2.0 specification will maintain full compatibility with the existing Safe-By-Wire physical layer to preserve compatibility with Safe-By-Wire (ASRB 1.0) systems and components in development today. The consortium also plans to submit the ASRB 2.0 specification to the appropriate ISO working group for consideration as a global standard by late-2004. The solution proposed by the Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium will be a royalty-free standard and as a result, rapid acceptance by OEMs and suppliers is expected. The Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium was formed in February 2004 to create a single and open global standard for an automotive safety bus. By defining a standardized bus interface, automotive occupant safety-related designs may be substantially simplified, allowing rapid customization and reduced development costs. Founding members of the Safe-by-Wire Plus consortium include Analog Devices Inc, Autoliv Inc., Robert Bosch, Continental Temic, Delphi Corporation Key Safety Systems, Philips, Siemens VDO Automotive, Special Devices Inc and TRW Automotive. Companies can participate as adopters of the specification without paying license fees or royalties. All product or service names are the property of their respective owners.