Invention: Electronic stability control for cars
The world's roads and motorways are much safer thanks to inventions by automotive engineer Anton van Zanten. His breakthrough achievement, the electronic stability control system (ESC), also known as ESP (electronic stability program), is now mandatory in a number of countries, and is second only to the seatbelt in saving lives in car crashes.
Van Zanten's electronic
guidance technology, which went into serial production in 1995, solved a
long-standing problem in vehicle safety: when drivers "slam" on the
breaks - for instance to avoid a suddenly occurring obstacle - the wheels "lock
up" and sideways forces send the car veering off the road, often with
fatal consequences. In these situations, van Zanten's electronic stability control
system (ESC) springs into action, balancing the car within a hundredth of a second, faster than a human could ever hope to
respond.
As the head of a 35-strong development group at Bosch, van Zanten achieved his breakthrough in 1987 by running tests on vehicles and turning to the power of computers. Based on real-time feedback from on-board sensors, ESC quickly compensates for imbalances in a car's sideways forces - called lateral dynamics - in dangerous situations such as aquaplaning, or breaking on snow or ice. Since its introduction, the technology has saved thousands of lives as a vital automotive safety technology on a par with the seatbelt and airbag.
Societal benefit
According to the World Health Organisation, traffic accidents kill around 1.25 million people worldwide each year - significantly more than murders and military conflicts, with their combined annual toll of 440 000 deaths. ESC significantly reduces the high risk of a fatal outcome to sliding off the road. Studies cited by Bosch maintain that van Zanten's invention can prevent up to 80% of automotive accidents related to skidding off the road, and that since its launch it has prevented 260 000 accidents and saved some 8 500 lives in Europe alone.
The winner of over 110 industry awards, ESC's success is most apparent in the accidents it prevents. The US National Highways Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has calculated that ESC prevents 34% of all vehicle accidents and 70% of possible fatal vehicle rollovers. According to the NHTSA, it thus prevents just under a third of what would otherwise be fatal traffic accidents, saving tens of thousands of lives since its introduction. This makes ESC the single most important vehicle safety system after the seatbelt.
Economic benefit
In 1995, the technology was first deployed in a production vehicle, the S-Class limousine made by German automotive company Mercedes-Benz. Between its commercial launch in 1995 and 2010, Bosch reportedly sold 52 million ESC systems, well before the system became mandatory for all new European cars in 2014. As at 2016, Bosch has manufactured more than 150 million ESC/ESP systems. The safety system is now required in the EU for all newly registered cars and light commercial vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes. Across Europe, 90% of all cars and light commercial vehicles are equipped with ESC.
The latest industry forecasts by Research and Markets suggest that the market for ESC will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9% in the coming years to reach EUR 38.4 billion (USD 42 billion) in 2019. By preventing crashes in the first place, the ESC system is of even greater economic benefit than seat belts and airbags, which only reduce crash-related injuries. It not only helps reduce financial damage from crashes but also traffic congestion, which causes indirect costs through, for example, wasted petrol and time.
