PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MI /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Bosch LLC has opened a new technical center in Plymouth Township to enhance and expand its engineering and development capacity. The facility features research and development capabilities, as well as engineering space for its automotive electronics, starter motors and generators, and electrical drives divisions.
Continuing Bosch's commitment to research and development in the automotive industry, the Plymouth Township Technical Center is supported by more than 60 engineering and technical lab specialists working on development studies, design verification and production validation test plans in the facility's 70,000 sq. ft. test laboratory.
"The new Plymouth Township Technical Center has enabled Bosch to enhance our research and development capabilities in automotive electronics," said Martin Boos, director of engineering, product validation and testing, Robert Bosch LLC. "Bosch's investment in research and development is critical to achieving our goals and attaining market leadership in our automotive operations."
Facility testing capabilities include environmental chambers, center of competence vibration testing, noise vibration harshness chambers, electro- magnetic chamber, metallurgy and wiper lab. Additionally, the Plymouth Township Technical Center houses a machine shop, quality lab, equipment crib, small motor dynamometers, vehicle hoist, and powder coat and paint booths.
Currently, Bosch engineers a variety of innovative driver assistance technologies at the Plymouth Township Technical Center, including:
- Intelligent Bolt (iBolt) airbag releasing sensor technology utilizes sensors in the four anchor points of the seat frame to calculate weight and distribution on the passenger seat. The vehicle occupant protection system uses this data to determine optimal passenger airbag deployment, differentiating between a full release for large adults, a weaker release for small adults and children, and a suppression release for children in safety seats and unoccupied seats.
- Adaptive cruise control (ACC) detects vehicles traveling in front, computes their speed and maintains the safe distance by automatically controlling braking and engine speed. Bosch's new generation, ACC plus, relies on a radar sensor to identify and maintain an appropriate distance from a vehicle that precedes the ACC-equipped vehicle. Driver comfort is improved as the system operates at stop-and-go traffic speeds and can slow the vehicle down to a standstill.
- Predictive safety systems (PSS) utilize the sensors and electronic control unit from ACC to recognize emergency braking situations. PSS function in three key stages. First, the brake system prepares for emergency braking by placing the braking pads on the brake discs as a matter of precaution, and setting the hydraulic brake assistant into a state of "alert." In the second stage, the driver receives a warning through a noticeable brake jerk that an emergency situation is imminent. In the last stage, when a collision is unavoidable, automatic braking occurs with maximum deceleration to reduce the severity of the accident.
The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2006, approximately 260,000 associates generated sales of 43.7 billion euros, or $54.9 billion. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering," the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of approximately 280 subsidiaries and more than 12,000 service centers in over 140 countries.
In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, thermo-technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs 24,750 associates in more than 80 primary and 20 associated facilities throughout the region with reported sales of $8.8 billion in 2006. For more information on the company, please visit its Web site.
CONTACT: Rachel Blaquiere of Robert Bosch LLC, +1-248-876-2734, [email protected].