Bosch Demonstrates Automatic Emergency Braking to Spare Bicyclists

At an event at the Bosch Proving Grounds in Flat Rock, Michigan, the company showcased its new automatic emergency braking system to help drivers to avoid collisions with cyclists. 

Cyclists can often present an unexpected kink that can thwart some car safety technology, but Bosch says it's developed enhanced sensors to that can detect cyclists riding alongside and ahead of drivers vehicles, determining the speed, distance, and direction of the cyclists' travel to calculate the risk of an accident. 

If the automotive equipment manufacturer's system detects an imminent collision with a cyclist, the automatic emergency braking system kicks in and brings the vehicle to a complete stop. In cases where a complete stop would not save hitting a cyclist, the AEB at least mitigates the severity of the accident. 

The Drive was able to experience this technology first hand. With a modified Jaguar F-Pace sport utility vehicle and a demonstration course, Bosch showed us this technology works—but noted that it doesn't replace a driver's attention to the road.

"This system is not intended to remove the responsibility from the driver, but just to add an extra layer of safety for these types of scenarios and urban environments," Bosch Engineer Derek Howard told The Drive regarding the AEB Cyclist system. 

Check out the video below to see our first-hand experience.