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Currently in development, pedals with integrated ecological functions will arrive on the car market by 2012.
There’s not much of a step from road safety to environmental protection, and the innovations of the car industry in terms of sustainable mobility have yet not run out.
The concept is identical to visual and sound-based warning systems already present in manual models, but the pedal warning system gently resists the foot when the driver puts too much pressure on the accelerator pedal and uses more fuel than necessary.
Another step towards green consumptionIn order to go "green", the German OEM Continental optimizes the accelerator force feedback pedal (AFFP) by fitting it with an ecological function. Launched in 2008, the AFFP, which emits vibrations in order to inform the driver that he/she is driving too close to a car, will from now on make the pedal vibrate in a different way to signify excessively high CO2 emissions.
A series of sensors and computers will take various parameters into account, such as gear engaged, engine use or road gradient in order to tell the driver to change his/her driving style.
On the same ecological path, the constructor Nissan is launching the Eco pedal which will allow the driver to adapt his fuel consumption according to traffic conditions thanks to real-time calculation software.
These new sustainable mobility systems are easily controlled by the driver, who can ignore them if driving conditions demand so. They could reduce CO2 emissions by between 5% and 10 % and reduce petrol consumption by up to 10%.
