博世公司正致力于在SiriusXM Connect移動(dòng)安全app中集成場(chǎng)景安全通知功能,而這僅為博世在CES 2025上推出的眾多技術(shù)之一。
博世在2025年國(guó)際消費(fèi)電子展(CES 2025)上展示了其在安全、無障礙和人工智能技術(shù)方面取得的最新成果。博世表示,這些技術(shù)將對(duì)兩類群體產(chǎn)生重要影響:第一類是采用博世軟硬件的汽車的駕駛員,第二類是在看臺(tái)上觀看采用這些技術(shù)的賽車的觀眾。
第二類涉及的賽車可能會(huì)用到博世與賽車手Robert Wickens合作研發(fā)的新款制動(dòng)手控器。Wickens在2018年的一次撞車事故中嚴(yán)重受傷,但此后他憑借這類設(shè)備成功重返賽場(chǎng)。在代表Bryan Herta Autosport駕駛現(xiàn)代伊蘭特N TCR參賽時(shí),Wickens就使用了上述的新款制動(dòng)手控器,但該設(shè)備實(shí)際上是博世向LMDh級(jí)賽車供應(yīng)的電動(dòng)制動(dòng)系統(tǒng)的升級(jí)版——在線控制動(dòng)技術(shù)的基礎(chǔ)上,通過配備軟件以平衡電機(jī)制動(dòng)和傳統(tǒng)液壓制動(dòng)產(chǎn)生的扭矩。這一定制軟件還允許Wickens通過其已有的手控器將壓力信號(hào)轉(zhuǎn)換為實(shí)際的制動(dòng)操作。博世北美賽車運(yùn)動(dòng)總監(jiān)Jacob Bergenske在接受SAE采訪時(shí)表示,工程團(tuán)隊(duì)仍在改進(jìn)該控制器的手感。
他表示:“人類能夠通過觸覺感知信息真是太不可思議了。Wickens越是能夠通過雙手精準(zhǔn)感知制動(dòng)的臨界點(diǎn),同時(shí)我們系統(tǒng)提供的反饋精度越高,他的駕駛速度就會(huì)越快。與他之前使用的控制系統(tǒng)相比,新控制器的性能得到了大幅提升。在某些操作中,其響應(yīng)速度甚至提升了10倍。”
2025年,Wickens將駕駛配備最新款制動(dòng)手控系統(tǒng)的雪佛蘭科爾維特Z06 GT3.R在國(guó)際汽車運(yùn)動(dòng)協(xié)會(huì)(IMSA)主辦的衛(wèi)士泰克跑車錦標(biāo)賽(WeatherTech SportsCar Championship)上首次亮相。Bergenske表示,團(tuán)隊(duì)在該項(xiàng)目中積累的軟件經(jīng)驗(yàn),還可為其它團(tuán)隊(duì)研發(fā)更先進(jìn)的制動(dòng)手控系統(tǒng)提供參考。
他表示:“該項(xiàng)目不僅關(guān)乎Robert個(gè)人,更是為了向那些因殘疾認(rèn)為自己無緣駕駛高性能賽車的人提供機(jī)會(huì)。”
在同一場(chǎng)CES媒體發(fā)布會(huì)上,博世北美區(qū)總裁Paul Thomas宣布,公司的逆行警報(bào)系統(tǒng)可能將于近期集成到新版SiriusXM Connect移動(dòng)安全應(yīng)用程序中。Thomas表示,這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的益處不言而喻,因?yàn)楦鶕?jù)美國(guó)聯(lián)邦公路管理局(FHA)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,2022年因逆行造成的死亡事故已超過700起。實(shí)際上,F(xiàn)HA早在2012年就開始關(guān)注逆行問題,當(dāng)時(shí)該局與密歇根州交通局(MDOT)聯(lián)合發(fā)布的一項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果顯示,黑暗環(huán)境和不清醒駕駛會(huì)導(dǎo)致逆行率增加,且由此引發(fā)的事故“后果極其嚴(yán)重”。研究發(fā)現(xiàn),在逆行引發(fā)的碰撞事故中,至少一人死亡或重傷的比例高達(dá)32%,而在密歇根州所有高速公路事故中,這一比例為2%。
博世的這套云系統(tǒng)能夠跟蹤車輛上下高速公路的情況,并利用匿名數(shù)據(jù)來判斷車輛是在正常行駛還是逆向行駛。Thomas在CES上表示,只要駕駛員已經(jīng)安裝了SiriusXM Connect應(yīng)用程序,就能夠啟用博世的逆行警報(bào)系統(tǒng),無需額外安裝任何硬件。他表示,與SiriusXM Connect集成后的博世技術(shù)能夠精準(zhǔn)地針對(duì)身處危險(xiǎn)的駕駛員發(fā)出警報(bào)。
“如果駕駛員在正常行駛的過程中遭遇逆向駛來的車輛,逆行警報(bào)系統(tǒng)將通過車載收音機(jī)或音響系統(tǒng)向其發(fā)出語(yǔ)音警報(bào),未來還有可能添加視覺警報(bào)。與此同時(shí),該系統(tǒng)還可向逆行車輛的駕駛員發(fā)出警告,提醒其注意逆行的行為。”
但目前博世僅希望該系統(tǒng)實(shí)現(xiàn)警報(bào)功能。Thomas表示,這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的研發(fā)初衷并非控制逆行車輛,并進(jìn)一步解釋說此類控制手段可能會(huì)受到法律限制。不過,他也表示博世正致力于與其他公司合作,共同將這套逆行警報(bào)系統(tǒng)向更多汽車和智能手機(jī)推廣,并強(qiáng)調(diào)博世并非為了盈利才開發(fā)這項(xiàng)技術(shù)。
他表示:“如果這項(xiàng)技術(shù)已經(jīng)開始用于拯救生命,那么我愿意無償獻(xiàn)出。”
博世在CES上發(fā)布的內(nèi)容有一個(gè)共同點(diǎn),那就是軟件。Thomas表示,盡管博世今年的參展主題“Coded #LikeABosch”表明公司的戰(zhàn)略重心日益向AI技術(shù)和更多軟件開發(fā)領(lǐng)域傾斜,但公司依然需要保持戰(zhàn)略平衡。
他表示:“我們絕不會(huì)將發(fā)展重心完全放在軟件和硬件中的任何一方面上。我們始終會(huì)在軟件和硬件之間找到一個(gè)平衡點(diǎn)。我們依然致力于成為一家強(qiáng)大的硬件供應(yīng)商,因?yàn)槠嚳偸切枰錾淖鲃?dòng)器、轉(zhuǎn)向器或制動(dòng)系統(tǒng)等關(guān)鍵硬件。”
博世目前正在氫能經(jīng)濟(jì)領(lǐng)域加大硬件研發(fā)力度。Thomas表示,盡管氫能市場(chǎng)的整體增長(zhǎng)有所放緩,但博世仍與政府和企業(yè)合作伙伴保持密切合作,包括開發(fā)更先進(jìn)的電解槽技術(shù),以便在氫能使用地區(qū)生產(chǎn)氫。此外,博世還致力于改進(jìn)氫氣泵的性能。
Thomas表示:“我們?nèi)栽跉淠茴I(lǐng)域深耕。我們的力士樂(Rexroth)部門已研發(fā)出了一種更高效的氫氣輸送方式。目前,氫能源汽車的加氫過程是氫能市場(chǎng)上最為低效的一個(gè)環(huán)節(jié),因?yàn)樵诖诉^程中會(huì)損失60%-70%的氫。博世的力士樂團(tuán)隊(duì)開發(fā)了一種新型氫氣泵,能夠大幅提升輸氫效率,從而避免大量能量散失到環(huán)境中。”
Thomas表示,新一屆政府在支持氫能發(fā)展方面將采取何種立場(chǎng),目前尚不清楚。
他表示:“眾所周知,新政府是否會(huì)向先前一樣大力支持氫能發(fā)展仍存在較大的不確定性。我們很榮幸與美國(guó)能源部(DOE)建立了緊密的合作關(guān)系。對(duì)于美國(guó)目前的氫能生產(chǎn)情況,以及氫能在燃料電池(或可燃?xì)鋺?yīng)用)中的使用情況,我們非常滿意。同時(shí),我們?nèi)耘c一家生產(chǎn)氫能卡車、并涉足可燃?xì)錁I(yè)務(wù)的大型商用車制造商保持著合作伙伴關(guān)系。目前我們正與政府就這些卡車是否符合零排放標(biāo)準(zhǔn)進(jìn)行深入探討。未來的監(jiān)管環(huán)境如何變化,我們拭目以待。”
Bosch took to CES 2025 with positive messages about its safety, accessibility and AI technologies, which it said will impact both the people who drive vehicles with its hardware and software inside and those might be watching such a vehicle from the bleachers.
A racecar that would fit Into that latter category might use the new hand brake controls that Bosch developed along with motorsport race driver Robert Wickens. Wickens was badly hurt in a crash in 2018 but has since returned to racing using vehicles with hand controls. Wickens uses the new hand brakes in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR he drives for Bryan Herta Autosport, but they are an updated version of the electric brake system Bosch supplies for the LMDh class. Based on brake-by-wire technology, the hand brakes have software that balances the braking torque from the motor and the traditional hydraulic brakes. Bespoke software also allows Wickens to use the brakes with his pre-existing hand controls, translating pressure signals into actual breaking events. Jacob Bergenske, Bosch’s director of motorsport for NorthAmerica, told SAE Media that the engineering team is still improving the feel in the controls.
“It's amazing the perception that a human has through touch,” he said. “The more that [Wickens] can perceive that threshold of breaking in his hands, and we can give the proper kind of feedback, the faster he's gonna be. Where we're at right now is a massive step forward from what he had with his previous system. In certain events, we have literally 10x improved in responsiveness.”
In 2025, Wickens will make his debut in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a Corvette Z06 GT3.R that will use a newer iteration of the hand brake system. Bergenske said the software learnings that the team made on this project could be used to make better hand brake controls for others.
“This is not just about Robert,” he said. “It’s about providing people opportunities who never thought that they would have had those opportunities before, people who never thought they would be able to drive a high-performance race car because they have a disability.”
The right move on wrong-way driving
At the same press event at CES, Paul Thomas, president of Bosch North America, announced that the company’s wrong-way driver warning system will likely be coming to the new SiriusXM Connect mobile safety app in the near future. The reasons this technology would be beneficial are obvious, Thomas said, since there were over 700 wrong-way driving fatalities recorded in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHA). The FHA has been concerned about wrong-way driving since at least 2012, when it published the results of a study conducted with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) that found that darkness and driver impairment resulted in higher wrong-way drivers and that wrong-way crashes were “highly severe.” The study found that 32% of wrong-way crashes resulted in at least one fatality or incapacitating injury, compared to 2% of all Michigan freeway crashes.
Bosch’s cloud-based system tracks vehicles as they get on or off a highway and uses anonymized data to tell if a vehicle is moving with or against traffic. Bosch’s wrong-way alert system does not require any supplemental hardware as long as they have SiriusXM installed, Thomas said at CES. Integration with SiriusXM Connect will allow Bosch’s technology to only alert people who are in the line of danger, he said.
“If you're on the road, [and someone is] traveling towards [you in a] car that's coming the wrong way, you will get an announcement audibly and potentially visually over your radio or over your sound system that says you have a wrong-way driver coming towards you,” he said. “It will also trigger the person that's driving the car in the wrong direction to say that they're moving in the wrong direction.”
But alerts are as far as Bosch wants to go for now. The technology wasn’t developed to take control of a vehicle going the wrong way, Thomas said, adding that there are likely legal restrictions against this kind of control. Still, Bosch is “actively working” to bring these wrong-way driver alerts to more vehicles and smartphones through other collaborations, Thomas said, adding that Bosch is not developing this to make money.
“I would give this technology away to save lives, if it was starting to be used,” he said.
Software, AI and hydrogen
One thing Bosch’s CES announcements have in common is software. Thomas said even as the company leans into AI and more software development – the company’s new slogan is “Coded #LikeABosch” – he remains a “balanced guy.”
“I'm never going to say we're going to go all in the software or all in the hardware,” he said. “I'm always going to find a level of balance between both. We still want to be a very strong hardware supplier because you need great actuators in your vehicle, or steering gears or braking systems, or whatever it may be.”
One place where Bosch is advancing its hardware development is with the hydrogen economy. Thomas said that even though the H2 market has slowed a bit, in general, Bosch remains involved with its government and corporate partners, including by developing better electrolyzer technology in order to produce hydrogen energy in the regions where it will be used. Improved pumps are also part of the picture.
“We're still heavily involved in hydrogen,” Thomas said. “With our Rexroth division, we've developed a way to deliver hydrogen in a much more effective way. One of the most inefficient things in the market today is how you fuel a hydrogen vehicle. You lose between 60 and 70% of the energy during the fueling process. Our Rexroth group has developed a new pump that actually delivers the hydrogen in a much more effective way, so you're not losing a lot of the energy to the environment.”
Where the next administration will go when it comes to supporting hydrogen is an open question, Thomas said.
“We all know that the new government might either go as heavy into hydrogen as before, or not,” he said. “We're closely tied with the DOE, and we're happy. We're happy with what we're seeing related to the production of hydrogen in the region and usage either in fuel cells [or combustible hydrogen]. We're still a partner with a large commercial vehicle manufacturer that makes hydrogen trucks and [with] combustible hydrogen, there's lots of discussions now with the government on whether that qualifies as a zero-emission vehicle or not. We’re just going to see how the regulatory environment works out.”