Bosch Australia innovates for the global market

Melbourne, Australia 4 October – Bosch Australia proudly showcased an innovative trailer safety system featuring ABS and sway mitigation technology to be released early in 2018.

Summary

  • Trailer Safety Control (TSC) system being developed as the first in an expanding portfolio of systems to improve trailer usability and road safety
  • Combining “on trailer” Anti-lock Braking (ABS) and sway mitigation, the system improves the safety of towing trailers, caravans and camper trailers
  • Bosch Australia is the global Centre of Competence for Trailer Safety and will manufacture the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) at its Clayton facility
  • DexKo Global Inc, the global leader in highly engineered trailer products is collaborating with Bosch on product development
  • In Australia and the United States, the combined trailer and towing market includes 1 million new trailer registrations per annum, and 12 million registered trailers

NRSPP Insights

NRSPP Program Manager, Jerome Carslake, was there to witness the release of this innovative home-grown technology where Bosch Australia has developed and will produce ABS for trailers.

Trailers and caravans are a large market segment in Australia, where ABS and sway mitigation can have a huge impact on safety.

Many of us have experienced nervously following a trailer that has begun to sway and would appear that at any moment it could fishtail out of control. Even worse is the feeling of a loss of control while negotiating the twists and gradient of the road with a trailer in tow. Both circumstances can be stressful, and for both driver and surrounding traffic, potentially very hazardous.

Now consider how caravanning in Australia is iconic. For many Australians it is part of our retirement DNA. Retirees want to put their lifetime of hard work in their rear vision mirror, buy a 4WD and caravan and see this great country.

They become a “Grey Nomad”.

For many retirees this may be the first time in their life they have hitched up to a caravan and are now embarking on what is a long-awaited journey of lifetime.

Overlooked are the drivers skills and understanding of the new risks which come with such large vehicles.

Trailers can easily become unstable and cause accidents when braking, swerving, overtaking, driving in high winds or on difficult roads. In 2016, loss of control accounted for 30 percent of caravan accident claims, with oversteering and fishtailing among the main causes.

Welcome Bosch Australia

Bosch Australia continues to be at the forefront of innovation in vehicle technology. Today, the leading provider of technology and services is showcasing Trailer Safety Control (TSC) for fitment to caravans and trailers equipped with electric brakes and towed by passenger vehicles. The system demonstrates Bosch’s state-of-the-art vehicle safety technologies developed over more than 40 years. This shows how Bosch Australia is diversifying into new products and markets including the global caravan and trailer sector, building on 30 years of local automotive engineering expertise.

“Despite the end of volume passenger car production in Australia this year, Bosch Australia’s 200 strong automotive engineering team is busier than ever,” said Gavin Smith, President of Bosch Australia, “Trailer Safety is a great example of how to apply existing capability to an adjacent and attractive niche with global potential.”

Bosch Australia appointed as global Centre of Competence for Trailer Safety

The need for a solution to this problem was identified by the Australian Vehicle Safety Systems engineering team. This prompted an innovation idea and subsequent R&D project in 2014. The parent company acknowledged the local engineering capability and market opportunity which led to the establishment of a Bosch global Centre of Competence for Trailer Safety in Australia by 2015.

The first in a portfolio of Trailer Safety products from Bosch to enter the market

The launch of the first system, an active safety system, will aid accident prevention by incorporating ABS, sway mitigation and other value-adding functions, for new caravans and trailers with electric brakes. It has the potential to reduce the number of trailer related incidents by up to 45 percent. Furthermore, the comfort of knowing that the system will automatically intervene when necessary at the first sign of instability or wheel lock, will help alleviate driver stress levels while towing.

Mounted to the trailer’s chassis, the system comprises an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) with integrated motion sensor, and wheel speed sensors. These sensors determine the movement of the trailer and the speed of each individual wheel, respectively. The brain of the system, the ECU, will be manufactured at Bosch’s production facility in Clayton.

High-value automotive components developed in Australia

Bosch has been a leader in automotive safety systems such as Antilock Braking (ABS) and Stability Control (ESP) for 40 years. Mark Jackman, the head of Bosch Australia’s Vehicle Safety Division explains, “Our extensive vehicle safety systems experience is carried over into the Trailer Safety Control system, making it a system you can rely on.”

DexKo Global, Inc. provides its global expertise in trailer brake development

With the support of DexKo Global, Inc., the global leader in highly engineered trailer

running gear, chassis assemblies, related components and the parent company of both Dexter and AL-KO VT, Bosch is in the final stages of development, readying the TSC system for sale early in 2018. The system will be offered initially in Australia and the USA. In these two markets alone, there are approximately 1 million new trailer registrations annually (including caravans), and 12 million registered trailers.


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