Skoda is working on the development of a unique intelligent grille for cars, designed to reduce the risk of accidents with pedestrians. This is responsible for transmitting visual information and works in addition to a robot also designed by the brand.
Although the number of road deaths has continued to decline over the decades thanks to the many innovations in the field of road safety, the figures are still high. According to latest ONISR report (National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory), mortality on French roads increased by 10.1% in 2022 compared to 2021.
An innovative system
If motorists and two-wheeler users pay a heavy price, this is also the case for pedestrians since 484 of them died last year. Zebra crossings are particularly accident-prone, despite tougher penalties for motorists who do not allow people wishing to cross to cross. For memory, this infraction is punishable by a deduction of 6 points on the driver’s license.
In order to reduce the risks, Skoda has just unveiled its latest innovation. This takes the form of an astonishing grille designed to display information for pedestrians. This is currently under development by the brand’s teams based in the Czech Republic and replaces the backlit Crystal Face currently offered on the Skoda Enyaq iV.
The principle is very simple. In effect, this grille turns into a screen incorporating thousands of LEDs to display messages and other animated pictograms. Each of them is programmable and can be controlled separately, while they are protected from the weather thanks to a mask placed over them. The whole thing therefore makes it possible to interact directly with pedestrians.
As explained in the press release published by the manufacturer, the car equipped with this system and which approaches a zebra crossing may display green arrows indicating to pedestrians that they can cross. Once they are on the sidewalk, the grille will display a stop sign, for example. It will also be able to warn if it cannot stop for any reason.
Two complementary technologies
Several symbols have already been tested, such as arrows, the silhouette of a man or even a warning triangle. This system, currently in the test phase, will be able to work in collaboration with the IPA2X robot also developed by the manufacturer and researchers from the Universities of Prague and Munich. This is two meters high and helps pedestrians cross the road.
Thus, it engages in the middle of the lane once it detects that all the cars are stopped and displays information to assist vulnerable users such as the elderly and children. It shows a stop sign to vehicles, while those that are compatible will display an animation directly on their screen for the driver.
This device, currently being tested in Italy, uses artificial intelligence and could be deployed on the streets as early as 2025. Other manufacturers are working on systems similar to Skoda’s grille, such as Ford, which is developing lights capable of projecting information on the road. A technology very close to the Digital Light unveiled by Mercedes and which is notably available on the EQS.
Enough to make electric cars even safer, while the risk of accident would be 10% lower than thermal models according to a study by Axa. This is partly why the price of insurance is lower for this type of vehicle, although it could increase for any other reason.
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