 |
Feb. 9, 2005 – The airbag accelerometer is generally regarded as one of the best examples of a MEMS sensor giving automakers a simultaneous price and performance advantage. The same may one day be said of MEMS-based tire pressure monitors, now being integrated in mainstream models in response to safety legislation.
Now there’s another area where MEMS is poised to make inroads in automotive — side-impact crash protection. Experts say it could generate a significant boost for MEMS sales if the U.S. government calls for more stringent side-impact crash protection standards, as is expected this year.
“We don’t mandate a technology,” said Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal government agency that carries out safety programs. Rather, he explained, NHTSA sets performance thresholds that automakers must meet. It’s up to the automakers to find the right technology, but most experts agree that airbags are a major component of side-impact crash protection.
 |
The regulatory upgrade was proposed in May 2004 and would require automakers to provide head protection in side crashes, in addition to enhanced thorax and pelvis protection. A new test simulating a side impact is also to be instituted.
A 150-day comment period ended late last year. Now, said Tyson, the agency is sifting through the comments before issuing a new rule, though the regulation is likely to be phased in over a four-year time frame, according to the May proposal. NHTSA estimates the upgraded regulations would save 700 to 1,000 lives per year.
However, said Marlene Bourne, senior MEMS analyst at In-Stat/MDR, that does not mean independent MEMS foundries are going to generate enormous returns from the business if they don’t complement an automotive strategy with other, higher-margin products. “The argument has always been that it gives you the volume to fill your fab so you can serve other, high-margin areas,” said Bourne. “It’s basically a foundation.”
The other benefit of automotive contracts, she said, is that they tend to be long-term, on the order of four to five years. “It’s nice to have stability like that.”
Bourne said other types of new safety standards could also benefit MEMS makers. “Rollover systems are a good example,” she said. “One of the critical safety systems in a rollover protection system is the side-impact airbag.”
She also pointed out that, by definition, automotive safety systems demand a high degree of reliability. A single accelerometer can serve a variety of functions in, say, a cellular phone. But in a car, such “doubling up” can undermine the kind of reliability required of a safety system. “Every bag has to have its own sensor,” she said.