Photo: byronv2
When you think of cutting-edge in-car safety systems, you probably think of driver-assist features like automatic emergency braking and blind spot detection — not explosions that selectively blow up parts of your car. However, controlled explosions may be the next step in making electrified vehicles safer in the event of a crash.
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How it works
Electric vehicles contain high-voltage batteries. To power the vehicle, these batteries channel electricity through wires to the propulsion system. However, when an electric vehicle is involved in a crash, these wires can be severed. Much like a downed power line, these wires can be extremely dangerous — especially if they’re touching a metallic part of the car. A severed wire could cause the car’s exterior or steering column to become dangerous to the touch. In other words, the driver, passengers, good Samaritans, and first responders stand the chance of getting zapped by a crashed EV.
In order to prevent this, the German company Bosch has created Pyrofuse Technology. When a car’s airbag system deploys, Pyrofuse Technology takes that as a cue to sever the connection from the battery to the wire, thereby isolating the dangerous part of the electrical system.
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Coming soon to an EV near you
Car crashes happen and EVs are becoming more common, so it’s encouraging to hear that new EV-specific safety technology is being developed. Best of all, this potentially life-saving technology is relatively easy to install in just about any modern EV. Plus, the Pyrofuse Technology semiconductors are lightweight, and only about the size of a fingernail, so they’ll fit into vehicles that weren’t made with this safety feature in mind.
Source: Digital Trends
