Bosch’s new electric power steering system offers new level of safety

German automotive components technology supplier Bosch has announced the global debut of its Electric Power Steering (EPS) system with fail-operational function at the North American International Auto Show.

The system, which enables either a driver or auto pilot system to make a safe stop in the rare case of a single failure, is a key requirement on the path to fully automated driving.

The fail-operational technology will enable OEMs to comply with the fall back strategies as proposed in the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy documents from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Traffic Highway Safety Association (NHTSA).

“Highly automated driving can make a significant contribution to improving road safety and we’ve seen great interest from our OEM customers as well as the public in this technology,” said Mike Mansuetti, president of Robert Bosch LLC.

“The addition of automotive steering after the acquisition of our former joint venture ZF Lenksysteme GmbH allows us to better serve our customers with integrated system solutions on the path to highly automated driving. The new EPS with fail-operational function represents a milestone of the integration of automotive steering into our mobility solutions portfolio and is an essential technology to safely realize automated driving.”

EPS with fail-operational function from Bosch enables an independent return to a minimal risk condition with about 50 percent electric steering support via an electrical fallback solution, claims the company.

The system is able to detect a failure in the steering system and move to the electrical fallback solution. If the driver is still in the loop, they can safely steer the vehicle without the sudden increase in steering force.

For highly automated driving, the EPS with fail-operational function will enable the system to recognize the situation and automatically steer the vehicle to a safe stop without bringing the driver back into the loop.

Bosch has designed the system in a highly integrated way that leads to a costeffective solution for OEMs. Start of production for the EPS with fail-operational function in a scalable modular kit is planned for 2020.