Safety concerns drive the automotive sensor markets

Abstract

Purpose

To give a background to the automotive sensor industry and consider recent developments in sensors used in vehicle safety systems.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the early development of the automotive sensor industry and gives examples of present‐day applications. It subsequently discusses development in advanced vehicle safety systems.

Findings

The advent of cost‐effective electronics in 1970 led to the development of numerous automotive systems such as electronic engine management which use a diversity of sensors. Since, the 1990s, safety has emerged as a major consideration and features such as traction control, ABS, stability control systems and air bags have been applied across a wide sector of the industry. New active safety systems which respond to passenger weight and position, as well as collision avoidance systems which can sense the vehicle's external environment are being developed and applied widely. These are fuelling the automotive sensor market which is forecast to reach 2.24 billion units per annum by 2010.Safety system integration is a major theme of present developments.

Originality/value

This paper shows that customer demands for enhanced safety have driven the development and rapid adoption of advanced vehicle safety systems. This has boosted the markets for automotive sensors.

Citation

Bogue, R. (2006), "Safety concerns drive the automotive sensor markets", Sensor Review, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 231-235. https://doi.org/10.1108/02602280610675528