Mercury Meta One Concept Advances Ford Safety Technology

Press Release

Mercury Meta One concept will debut at the North American International Auto Show in January.

• The science of safety is being advanced by Ford in the form of two emerging safety technologies - Lane Departure Warning and Collision Mitigation by Braking. Both technologies will be showcased on the Mercury Meta One concept at the 2005 North American International Auto Show.
• By the end of 2005, more than one-half million Ford Motor Company SUVs equipped with Roll Stability Controlâ„¢ - Ford's exclusive enhanced stability technology - will be on the road.

With a focus on accident prevention, Ford Motor Company is developing safety technologies that warn when a vehicle wanders into another lane and even apply the brakes if an accident is imminent. These technologies will be featured on the Mercury Meta One, Ford's most advanced scientific research concept ever displayed at an auto show.

Much of the science of automobile safety has focused on passive restraints, or how to protect occupants during a crash. Ford is researching and applying active safety measures in production vehicles and concepts designed with the intention to prevent some accidents from occurring.

One of these technologies, Ford's exclusive Roll Stability Controlâ„¢, will be on more than one-half million Ford Motor Company SUVs by the end of 2005.

Unlike any other system in the world, Ford's patented Roll Stability Control features roll-rate sensing and stability enhancing capability - offering assistance to the driver in maintaining vehicle control during extreme maneuvers. Ford also announced that the 2006 15-passenger E-Series wagon will feature the technology.

At Detroit's North American International Auto Show in January, Ford Motor Company's Mercury Meta One concept showcases two additional active safety technologies with promise: Lane Departure Warning, and Collision Mitigation by Braking.

Ford's Lane Departure Warning System is a technology in development that could help prevent a driver from unintentionally leaving his lane.

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) Ford's Lane Departure Warning is a mechanized vision system designed to recognize lane markings and a vehicle's lateral position to those markings. It can provide a visual, audible and/or haptic (vibrating) warning to the driver if the vehicle departs from a distinguishable travel lane without activation of the appropriate turn signal. In the concept car, a right lane departure triggers a vibration to the right side of the seat; a left lane departure spurs vibration of the left side of the seat.

In Lane Departure Warning, vehicle position is evaluated by a camera system mounted behind the windshield that measures the lateral distance from the camera's center line to the left and right lane markings. The system works during the day or at night while headlights are in use. Naturally, the system does not warn the driver if the turn signals are used before changing lanes. The system is still under development for conditions without clear lane markings and overall system reliability.

Ford's Collision Mitigation by Braking system is a technology in development that could help reduce speed in a frontal collision.