ONBOARD ELECTRONICS WILL SOON ACCOUNT FOR 30% OF A CAR'S COST.

The importance of onboard electronics will virtually double between 2003 and 2006 to represent about 30% of the cost of a car, the management team of Siemens VDO Automotive announced in the countdown to the Paris motor show. During a meeting with journalists in Toulouse, the main French industrial site of Siemens VDO Automotive, the head of its French subsidiary, Jean-Marc Nozeran, said the German group was relying on all the sectors (safety, consumption, pollution control, driving comfort and assisted navigation) amidst the widespread trend towards embedded electronics in most vehicle lines. "The challenge that has to be met is applying aviation-related technologies to mass-produced vehicles but at a much lower cost", according to Mr Nozeran.

As in many aircraft, onboard instrument windscreen projection systems are already a featured in top-of-the-range vehicles. The idea now is to switch to colour and use infrared facilities to help motorists see better at night. In order to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision, Siemens is planning to market an optical fibre contactor sensor (incorporated into the shields). It will detect the shock parameters and a calculator will be activated within milliseconds to raise the bonnet a few inches on the side of the windscreen to cushion the...