AUMOVIO is a leader in the development of innovative technologies for active safety in cars – for example for safety systems that prevent accidents. This is decisive for the realization of “Vision Zero.”
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The accident preventer
The world is on the move. An increasing number of people are using more and more cars, motorcycles, bicycles, electric bikes, e-scooters and all sorts of other vehicles. Regardless of the vehicle category, the numbers of registrations and users are rising rapidly worldwide. Since 2005, for example, the number of cars registered for road use worldwide has almost doubled to around 1.6 billion. According to forecasts, global motorcycle sales will increase from around 56 million per year today to almost 62 million per year in the next five years. The number of bicycles is also growing. Today, around a billion bicycles are on the road worldwide – 450 million in India alone – and the number is constantly increasing.
The more mobile people are, the greater the risk of accidents. Or so you might assume. But in many countries, the number of road deaths has been falling for years, as has the number of serious injuries. In Germany, for example, there were around 2.5 million road accidents in 2025, in which 2,814 people lost their lives. According to the Federal Statistical Office, there were 5,361 road deaths 20 years earlier. And in 1985, 40 years earlier, the figure was 8,400. More and more road users but fewer and fewer accident victims?
Streets are becoming increasingly crowded but also increasingly safe
The answer to this apparent contradiction: technology solutions. Innovative safety systems ensure a significant and ever greater increase in safety on roads that are in fact more and more crowded. The introduction of the anti-lock brake system (ABS), the development of electronic stability control (ESC) and the integration of many other assistance systems help to prevent accidents in advance through the interaction between automotive sensor technology and increasingly intelligent vehicle electronics.
But the ultimate goal must be no accidents at all. A look at the global accident statistics shows that far too many avoidable accidents still happen, particularly in emerging countries. About every 30 seconds, a traffic accident takes place somewhere in the world in which somebody dies. That equates to about 1.19 million road fatalities worldwide in one year.
AUMOVIO is therefore pursuing “Vision Zero” – a world without traffic accidents. This ambitious goal can only be achieved if all parties involved work together: industry, politics and research institutions as well as automotive consumer protection bodies such as the worldwide NCAP safety organizations. Above all, however, technology companies like AUMOVIO have a responsibility to develop technology solutions tailored to the specific regional traffic and accident situation for all regions of the world.
Active safety – avoiding crashes in focus
AUMOVIO is taking on this responsibility through pivotal research and development projects as well as innovative product solutions for active safety, all of which have one major goal: to help prevent accidents. Examples include safety systems such as lane departure warning or drowsiness detection systems that prevent vehicles from collisions due to inattentiveness. If a collision cannot be avoided, passive safety systems – assistance systems that help to reduce the severity of an accident and thus save lives – come into play. A significant gain in safety can be achieved above all through the intelligent interaction of all safety technologies. Passive systems such as the belt tensioner work hand in hand with active systems like emergency brake assist. The sense, plan, act chain is crucial: systems detect a danger, a solution is found in real time and then actively implemented right away.
The former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt once famously said “People with visions should go to the doctor.” A man of clear, wise words – but this saying can be safely contradicted when it comes to AUMOVIO’s “Vision Zero.” Because behind it is an extensive portfolio of smart technologies that are turning this very vision into reality step by step. These active safety systems, for example, help to prevent accidents before they happen:
ABS
57 years ago, what is now the most widely used safety system in the world was presented at the IAA in Frankfurt. The principle of stopping wheel lock-up during braking has prevented countless accidents since 1969. Today’s anti-lock brake systems are enhanced by more than 50 additional functions on average.
Electronic brake systems
Electronic brake systems, which are increasingly entering series production, further reduce response time compared with hydraulic systems: electromechanical brakes such as the MK C1 take just 150 milliseconds to engage – significantly faster than conventional hydraulic systems. This further reduces braking distance and can help save lives.
Electronic Stability Control
ESC: Electronic Stability Control is another milestone in the history of automotive safety technology. AUMOVIO develops electronic brake systems such as the MK 120 ESC, which provide even greater safety during braking and acceleration and prevent the vehicle from skidding.
Display Solutions
Display solutions are the most important interfaces for interaction between users and the vehicle. Harmonious interaction between people and vehicles is essential. Relevant driving data must be easy to grasp intuitively. AUMOVIO relies on a smart cockpit that puts drivers at the center. In-house innovations such as the “Privacy Display” can present additional infotainment content during the journey in a way that only passengers can see, preventing distraction for the driver. Head-up displays ensure that the driver’s eyes remain on the road. The “Invisible Biometrics Sensing Display,” in turn, uses a camera mounted invisibly behind the OLED display to offer the latest safety functions, such as a 3D depth map of the driver and front passenger for optimized airbag deployment and reliable seat-belt detection.
Holistic Motion Control Software
Holistic Motion Control Software: smart software is key to improving the performance of existing safety systems – and to technological innovation. AUMOVIO has developed central software for orchestrating all essential motion actuators for longitudinal, lateral and vertical control.
