Artificial Intelligence (AI) is set to provide more tailored protection for vehicle occupants

How can vehicle occupants be protected even more effectively in the future in the context of automated driving? This is the question being addressed by the THI’s research project AI-SAFe – Adaptive Occupant Safety for Automated Driving. The Free State of Bavaria is supporting the project with a grant of one million euros. The grant notification was presented by Bavaria’s Minister for Science, Markus Blume, in the presence of Professor Arndt Bode, President of the Bavarian Transformation and Research Foundation.

“One million euros for the safe mobility of the future: through the Bavarian Transformation and Research Foundation, we are funding the AI-SAFe project at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt. The project name says it all: AI makes the car of the future not only smarter, but also safer. With AI-SAFe, Ingolstadt University of Technology and its partners are developing intelligent occupant protection systems – the digital guardian angels of tomorrow – at the interface between disciplines. One thing is clear: the future of mobility will not be determined solely by speed and technology – but by how well it protects people,” said Markus Blume.

AI-SAFe takes a novel research approach: for the first time, occupant characteristics, accident prediction and injury forecasting are being integrated into a single intelligent system. Based on Artificial Intelligence, modern sensor technology and biomechanical models, airbags and restraint systems are to be tailored in future to different individuals and accident scenarios. The aim is to reduce the risk of injury and further enhance the safety of automated vehicles.

“AI-SAFe epitomises research at the THI: interdisciplinary, application-oriented and offering clear societal added value. Together with our partners at the ‘ CARISSMA ’, we are developing technologies that make automated driving safer and consistently put people at the centre. This funding confirms the high scientific quality of our research centre and strengthens Bavaria’s position as a hub for innovation,” emphasises THI President Professor Walter Schober.

The project is being carried out at the CARISSMA research centre under the scientific leadership of Professor Thomas Brandmeier. Together with Audi, Autoliv, AUMOVIO, ANavS, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and Ingolstadt Hospital, the project partners are pooling expertise in Automotive Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, sensor technology, Biomechanics and medicine. In this way, AI-SAFe is contributing to Vision Zero – a future without road deaths or serious injuries. Professor Thomas Brandmeier explains the research approach pursued by AI-SAFe:“Our focus is on human safety and vulnerability. By considering occupant characteristics, the course of an accident and injury mechanisms together, we can activate protection systems tailored to the individual and the specific accident situation.”

“The research project ‘Adaptive Occupant Safety for Automated Driving’ addresses a topic that is both highly relevant to society and technologically fascinating. Experts and committees at the Bavarian Transformation and Research Foundation were unanimous in their assessment of the application and have approved funding of around one million euros for the project. The funding is intended to enable the consortium of academic and industry partners, led by Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt, to carry out fundamental research and development work through interdisciplinary collaboration between engineering and medicine, and, in the long term, to facilitate or accelerate the translation of the results into new products, new processes and new technologies,” says Professor Arndt Bode, President of the Bavarian Transformation and Research Foundation.

The Bavarian Transformation and Research Foundation has been funding joint research projects between academia and industry since 1990. To date, it has supported more than 1,100 projects with around 673 million euros.