“What makes me leave home with enthusiasm at 5 a.m. every day is the team I work with.”

Hi, Caroline! Give us a sense of who you are, as a person, and as an IEE employee.

I am a 40-year-old French woman, mommy of two, Zélie and Edgar. I see myself as a dynamic, optimistic, independent and demanding person. I work as a generic System Engineer for IEE in the Automated Driving business line.

Why did you decide to work for IEE in this field?

IEE has always been very active in the automotive area, promoting safety and comfort sensing solutions. As a child, I used to watch car documentaries on the television with my dad and was absolutely fascinated with the topic. Little did I know then that years down the road I would be visiting the Aston Martin and McLaren car manufacturing plants thanks to my job. At 23, I graduated with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, U.S. I started to look for my first job and wanted to thrive in an international environment and luckily, my path took me to IEE. It was my first job interview ever, and bingo! Years later, I am still here.

How does your daily work look like and what are the challenges?

It is no joke when I say that no two days are ever the same. My challenges are various, but all exciting. On the one hand, I lead the cost optimization procedure for the Hands Off Detection (HOD) sensor mat – IEE’s highlight product for supporting assisted and automated driving functions, from purchasing to production. I also look for improvement opportunities for our HOD system. Add to this supporting the development of new production processes, purchasing activities of new materials or developing the automated driving products of tomorrow and you have a good view of how busy and diverse my daily professional life is.

What do you like most about your job?

I thoroughly enjoy working with different departments within IEE. As such, I relate to material sciences, manufacturing, simulation, purchasing, testing, quality, hardware and so on. Together, we never stop trying, again and again, not giving up until we achieve our targets as a team.

I also like the fact that I learn every day, I can work autonomously as well and I have a trustful boss, which makes the entire working experience so rewarding. But above all, what truly makes me leave home at 5h15am every day with enthusiasm is being part of this team I work with! 

Do you think IEE gave you the opportunity to experience something you could not have anywhere else?

Thanks to my responsibilities within IEE, I had the chance to work closely with IEE Korea for more than 10 years, which opened for me a new world and a culture I knew nothing about previously. I thus discovered some wonderful, hardworking colleagues with a very strong team spirit and a deep sense of respect. We’ve worked on challenging international/global projects which often meant long working evenings and even weekends, but the compensation came through pleasant after-work meals and stories that strengthened our bonds. I count these people among my friends since then and will always be grateful to IEE for having met them.

Ever since the mandatory implementation of the seat belts in cars in the mid-1960s, the device has been on every auto maker’s radar. As the belt wearing law reinforcements were slowly but surely shifting from addressing front seat passengers only to including rear seat passengers, car makers have been trying to improve the seat belts, making them safer, more comfortable and increasingly intelligent.

However, while its efficacy during accidents has been proven beyond anyone’s doubt throughout the years, not all drivers and passengers are wearing it, despite it being a legal obligation. Unless, that is, they are urged via seat belt reminders in a very insistent way to buckle up.

The role of the seat belt reminder is, of course, to make drivers and passengers adopt a safe behavior once the car is set in motion. Therefore, they are made to release warning signals ranging from visuals with blinking icons or text displays to high acoustic pitches of growing intensity. These “bothersome” reminders are there to motivate vehicle occupants more than any law can to buckle up before they start their journey. Are they effective? Yes! Audio visual seat belt reminders have proven to reduce the number
of unbelted occupants by 80%.

Having pioneered the development and manufacturing of occupant detection sensors for seat belt reminder systems, we at IEE firmly believe it is best to be reminded and to be alive.

Did you know that…

• In the early ‘70s, the U.S. tried to make interlock systems in cars compulsory to promote the use of seat belts. This failed because the car would not start unless all front seat passengers were buckled up. The public reacted against it and the requirement was withdrawn. Only few car brands decided to fit their vehicles with very basic seat belt reminder systems.
• The ‘90s changed that and the seat belt was again in the automotive safety spotlight. The seat belt reminders started to be taken seriously. Some vehicle manufacturers introduced more advanced SBR systems with audio visual signals and warning escalations.
• At IEE, we have been offering front passenger seat sensor mats for seat belt reminder solutions since 1997. In 2014 we produced the first rear seat occupant detection sensors to support advanced SBR for all vehicle occupants.
• In 2002, Euro NCAP began to grant bonus points to cars with built-in seat belt reminders, helping to improve the vehicle’s safety star rating. The first five-star ratings were enabled via the SBR points. Since then, SBR incentives have played a significant role in the Euro NCAP ratings and strongly influenced the vehicle manufacturer’s SBR installation rates.
• In 2009, the seat belt reminder becomes mandatory for the driver seat in the EU for new passenger cars.

Towards a 100% seat belt use across the EU

One can only hope for this, but more efforts are being deployed to reach this target and save more lives. An annual seat belt campaign is rolled out in the EU countries every year in March intended to educate and enforce good practice. Still, where education fails, technology and legislation together can help.  

1st September 2019 marks a new era, as the seat belt reminders have now become mandatory for every seat in new cars.

Since September 1st, 2019, EU legislation requires advanced SBR systems on the front seats of newly introduced vehicle models of any vehicle category. A simpler SBR variant is also required on the rear seats of passenger cars. From September 1st, 2021 onwards, these requirements will apply to all newly produced vehicles in the EU market.

Watch this video from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) below for further background information on the relevance of seat belt reminders. From us at IEE, take this piece of advice on board: buckle up every single day and for every single trip you make, even if it is a very short one. Stay safe behind the wheel.

How IEE supports Indian OEMs with SBR sensors

New automotive legislations strengthen the already tight relationship between the two countries and pave the way for safer, better equipped vehicles

2019 is a big year marking a blooming business collaboration between Luxembourg-based sensor manufacturer IEE and Indian vehicle makers. As of 1st July 2019, all Indian and foreign OEMs must fit Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) systems to all cars that are sold on the Indian market.

Due to this regulation, the Indian automotive market will see a growing need for Occupant Detection Sensors (ODS), a key product of IEE. This regulation, however, comes after IEE had already been offering its expertise in sensing solutions and started to commercialize SBR sensors to its Indian customers for longer than two years via its consulting company, Quanzen, located in Pune.

In an extremely fast growing Indian automotive market (estimated to rank as the 3rd largest worldwide by 2020) where 9.4 million passenger vehicles are due for production by 2026, it comes as no surprise that India will continue to be one of IEE’s main partners in the upcoming years.

“We have been present in India since March 2016 through our local sales representatives and have since then been close to our Indian customers’ needs. We are happy to support them in meeting new legislations. We are positive that our involvement in the automotive landscape that is currently shaping India will continue for many years to come,” says Michel Witte, Chief Executive Officer at IEE.

Read this article that was published this month in the India Empire magazine, which celebrated 70 years of collaboration between India and Luxembourg with a dedicated, special edition.

https://www.iee-sensing.com/media/5cc6ef19737d6_iee-india-empire-article.pdf

VitaSense for enhanced in-vehicle child safety

Vehicle Heatstroke – Reality Check

In-vehicle heatstroke is a chilling reality that hundreds of parents have had the misfortune of experiencing. The consequences are sometimes irreversible: unattended children have died, trapped in baking hot cars. Others suffer long-term disabilities. In the U.S. alone, there have been 794 documented fatalities since 1998 (2018 being the worst year with 51 recorded deaths). We know of numerous cases in other parts of the world, but the phenomenon is still poorly monitored.

The science behind unknowingly leaving a child in a car

“We cannot train our brains not to forget”

This is a sensitive matter, on which there should be no finger pointing. Testimonials show all too vividly that those who accidentally forgot a child in the car are not negligent, easy-going, absent-minded, ill-intended parents. They are humans. Humans who may not have slept for nights in a row. Humans who are surreally busy. Humans who might have miscommunicated with their spouse on that day. Humans like you and me. Stress, a sudden change of habit, a distraction and our memory can fail. No one is 100% safe from it. Before we know it, we are convinced in the back of our minds that the child was dropped off into day care, whereas he/she is still present in the car, while we carry on with our daily tasks.

This is where technology can and should step in. Educating people on the topic is not enough. As the numbers of victims speak louder and louder every year, vehicle manufacturers and rule makers understand the urgency to implement effective, affordable and available technological solutions that can “bring an end to these predictable and preventable tragedies,” as the organization KidsAndCars explains. Why, then, not equip cars with an alarm system that warns drivers to check the presence of back seat passengers when the car is turned off, in the same way we are reminded to turn off the headlights or attach the seatbelts?

IEE’s VitaSense – A vital sensing solution

At IEE, we do not shy away from finding solutions to even the most niche applications. Our people have a genuine concern for driver and passenger safety. To fight this problem, IEE has developed an essential, life-saving sensor, capable of detecting even sleeping infants left alone in the car and alert drivers in multiple ways. We call it VitaSense.

VitaSense is not a complicated product. Integrated above the back seats of a car, it functions as a transmitter sending harmless, low-power radio signals that are reflected by the human body. It then feeds the information into the vehicle warning system which triggers various types of notifications: sounds and lights activation, text a user on the mobile phone, etc. This all depends on the car’s built-in systems. Because VitaSense is independent of the child restraints system (CRS) used, it cannot be flawed by incorrect use or installation of the child seat.

“Parents and child safety advocates all over the world had been calling for years for technological devices that address this human error to be made available. VitaSense was developed precisely for this reason. And today, we are extremely proud to release such a powerful product that reinforces in-vehicle child safety and helps prevent tragic situations. One child lost is one too many,” says Alexander Treis, Business Development Manager.

IEE present at the opening

A confirmed leader for automotive sensing solutions, IEE participated in the “Cross-Border Digital Testbed Project Day” supporting autonomous driving testing.

Autonomous driving and border crossing were high on the agenda yesterday, 3rd April 2019, in Schengen, Luxembourg, where the “Cross-Border Digital Testbed Project Day” kicked off. As a confirmed leader for automotive sensing solutions which is also heavily involved in R&D and the exploration of new applications and technologies, IEE displayed the capabilities of its sensors in the presence of Luxembourg, France and Germany officials.

A 206 km circuit has been jointly opened by the three countries to enable testing the car of the future. Such innovations prepare the ground for a different level of mobility which, as the Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg and Minister for Economic Affairs, Étienne Schneider, reminds, will bring significant changes to the European landscape. They are intended to contribute not only to facilitating traffic conditions when crossing from one country into the other, but also improve driving safety, energy efficiency and air quality.

“Safety and innovation in driving truly lie at the heart of our business,” says Michel Witte, Chief Executive Officer at IEE. Our R&D teams are pro-active in designing new car sensor technologies while we constantly work with our customers to understand their present and future needs and help them meet legislation requirements. Whenever there is an opportunity for vehicle improvement, we put our expertise into use to deliver sensors that fit the industry trends,” says Witte.

The choice of the location for this pilot project is by no means a random one. Schengen is where Europe without borders first saw the daylight. The symbolism for freedom of movement thus extends to technological progress, which sees no barriers or borders.

Scared of autonomous driving? The shift is not likely to happen before 2030-2035, but in the automotive world, changes take place at an extremely rapid pace and it is best to be prepared and welcome the self-driving car.

“At IEE, we are all about innovation, and being present at such an event during which the future of mobility is discussed and initiated through autonomous car testing is only natural. We embrace change and look into the future,” says Alain Schumacher, Chief Technology Officer at IEE.