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Bosch Reveals Active Gas Pedal with Haptic Touch

Bosch has developed a new type of accelerator pedal, fitted with haptic feedback.
Bosch active gas pedal 8 photos
Photo: Bosch
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The supplier claims that the new pedal can improve fuel economy by seven percent for any modern car. It works by giving the driver “haptic” feedback and modifies the signal sent to the vehicle’s ECU to enable coasting without the driver doing anything more than on a regular set of pedals.

The new technology brought by Bosch’s haptic gas pedal means that the pedal can vibrate in several ways to signal certain events, such as the switch from electric drive and internal combustion engine on a hybrid, but also the moment when the driver needs to shift gear to gain maximum fuel efficiency on manual transmission applications. While some cars have gear shift recommendations in the dash, Bosch’s proposed solution takes on a more direct approach in connection to the driver.

The company claims that the proposed solution is less distracting for the driver than conventional shift recommendation indicators fitted to the instrument cluster.

We agree with them on this one, but we have to acknowledge that drivers might take some time to adjust to the technology, as they would to any tingling sensation in the right sole while driving.

Along with the vibration and knocking haptic feedback from the gas pedal, Bosch’s new technology allows the device to provide variable counter pressure to the driver’s right leg.

This means that the accelerator pedal could stop the driver from accelerating any further if it determines it is an inefficient way of pressing the pedal. In other words, if the system decides the driver is wasting fuel, the gas pedal will bring increased resistance and “lift” itself so that fuel is saved.

Naturally, this system would only work in certain conditions, perhaps only in Eco mode, and along with the “speed limiter” function.

However, over the years, when cars still driven by humans will be as rare as autonomous cars today, we would not be surprised if they made a car that would prevent a driver from speeding.
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 Download: Active Gas Pedal Infographic (PDF)

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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