Mercedes ESF Concept Previews Future of Safety Technology

By Brett Foote - October 24, 2019

Over a dozen safety innovations help make the Mercedes ESF a fascinating test bed for the future of production cars.

Safety has always been a huge focus for Mercedes. Each passing generation brings new and exciting technology designed to keep occupants intact, as well as those not in the vehicle. Mercedes continues to innovate in this important area with their new 2019 Experimental Safety Vehicle (ESF) concept. This rolling test bed features a dozen brand new safety innovations destined for production Mercedes vehicles. And in this fascinating video from the automaker, we learn about the role colors and robots play from Mercedes engineer Julien Richert.

“The colors of the ESF are part of what we call informed trust,” Richert says. “Beginning with the turquoise color, which is aiming at informing the car’s surroundings when it’s in automated mode. Orange stands for an alert. When danger is coming, they will just alert the surroundings. Just imagine – someone’s approaching from the side and that might lead to an accident. You can turn on these lights and the person can see you in time.”

It’s a fascinating idea, for sure. We’re so used to having warning lights and sounds inside the vehicle. But what about people on the outside? Making the vehicle more visible and using particular colors to warn them of imminent danger just seems like a natural evolution. But after two years of work, exterior colors aren’t the only thing that makes the ESF so innovative. It also has, well, robots.

In the event of an accident, the ESF deploys its own little triangular warning light. Not just on the roof, but also one on the ground to make the disabled vehicle visible to others. And that’s just part of this unique system. “We are also using a projection on the rear window to communicate with other road users,” Richert said.

All of these cool features work together to achieve one goal – to save lives. Even if we’re still a bit apprehensive about a totally autonomous driving experience, there are plenty of other ways to reduce accidents without handing over driving duties completely. And it’s nice to see that Mercedes continues to push the envelope in that regard.