Bosch digital brakes tested as far as the Arctic Circle
On a six-day journey of over 2,000 miles a Nissan Ariya was driven from northern Germany to the Arctic Circle
In a very special test that resembled a real engineering challenge, Bosch engineers covered more than 2,000 miles in six days, starting in southern Germany and ending at the Arctic Circle, with a car equipped with the new brake-by-wire system, i.e. without a mechanical connection (hose with oil) between the pedal and the master cylinder, but only an electronic connection.
According to the company, the voyage was not only a demonstration of the technology's capabilities, but also an opportunity to gather valuable data on how the system works in real conditions and over long distances. Here's how it went, and what we can expect from this technology in the future.
A system without mechanical connections
To understand it all properly, let's start by recalling what this new system developed by the German brand looks like. At the heart of Bosch's brake-by-wire technology is the elimination of the traditional mechanical connection between the brake pedal and the braking system.
Rather than transmitting pedal force mechanically, as in all cars on the road, the system sends an electrical signal via redundant 'can' communication lines to the master cylinder, telling the control unit how much force to actually apply to the four callipers in the braking system.
The Bosch brake-by-wire system test
But what is it all for? By separating the pedal from the system, the system offers numerous advantages in terms of design and integration. To give just a few examples, the elimination of the mechanical connection between the pedal and the pump allows greater freedom in the installation of components, allowing them to be placed in the best positions in the car, improving safety, reducing vibration and noise (essential in electric cars), or improving production simplicity, reducing the need for variations between left-hand and right-hand drive vehicles, for example.
The Bosch brake-by-wire system test
A journey to the limits
The test was conducted by a team of Bosch engineers in a 100% electric Nissan Ariya. The team set off from south-west Germany and drove through cities such as Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm, before reaching the Arjeplog winter test centre in northern Sweden.
According to the company, the brake system was tested during the journey in a variety of traffic and climatic conditions, including very low temperatures, to gather data that will be used to further optimise all components of the system.
Hagen Kuckert, project manager, commented:
"Our hydraulic braking system worked perfectly during the entire journey. We performed thousands of braking runs and gathered important information about the system's behaviour under different real-world conditions, comparing it with our simulations. Being able to verify the simulation results in the field is a crucial step in the development of this technology."
The Bosch brake-by-wire system test
The Bosch brake-by-wire system test
Coming at the end of 2025
The market launch of Bosch's brake-by-wire technology is planned for autumn 2025. It is estimated that more than 5.5 million vehicles worldwide will be equipped with this solution by 2030, and in addition to the hydraulic test version, the company has announced that it is already working on a second, fully electromechanical variant.
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