Michel Witte, President & Chief Executive Officer at IEE International Electronics & Engineering SA; Credit: John Chalmers

Luxembourg-based sensing specialist, IEE, has unveiled its new automotive vision at the International Motor Show 2017 (IAA), taking place from 14 – 24 September in Frankfurt, Germany.

Michel Witte, IEE’s President and CEO, said the vision - "today just a car, tomorrow a way of life – interior sensing solutions that adapt to your lifestyle" - marks the next step in both IEE’s evolution and that of the automotive industry. "For more than 25 years, IEE has been a leader in occupant sensing. We have led the market in such areas as occupant detection and classification, seat belt reminder functions, child seat detection and hands-on/off detection. Now, with the advent of new trends, including increased automation, electrification and connectivity, we want to build on this leadership, offering vehicle users an enhanced automotive experience. And to do that, we had to develop a new long-term vision.”

Paul Schockmel, IEE’s Vice President Strategy, Business Development and Marketing, said that how people view vehicles is gradually changing. “Many people no longer see a car as a product to buy,” he said. “They view it more as an experience, where they are the focal point and the car is there to support them as they live their lives. With these changing consumer expectations, sensing solutions such as hands-on/off detection, gesture recognition, unattended child reminders, vital signs detection, and driver monitoring will start playing an increasingly important role. Consumers will be looking for features that enhance their lives and their driving experience – and it is up to companies like IEE to provide these. Driver monitoring, for example recognising distraction or drowsiness, will become an important feature in the future - supported by radio frequency and optical technologies. We believe that our new vision aptly sums up this value shift. In our vision, we identified the functions and applications that we believe will be the key future drivers in interior sensing and have begun working on the technologies and products to make them a reality. One area we are currently working on, for example, is the development of unique and intelligent 3D in-cabin concepts that will not only offer high added value for vehicle manufacturers, but will also make life safer, more comfortable, and better for end consumers. We look forward to presenting this concept, along with several other new technologies and applications, in our demo car at the IAA. The trends that we are currently seeing make it an exciting and challenging time for the automotive industry. At IEE, we have a proud history of developing cutting-edge sensors – and we are looking forward to delivering the new and innovative sensing solutions of the future.”

IEE S.A. is an innovative developer of specialised sensing systems. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Luxembourg, the company has operations in Europe, the US and Asia. IEE is a global leader in automotive safety sensing systems for occupant detection and classification. The company's solutions are dedicated to the following markets: Automotive, Building Management & Security, and Sports & Healthcare. IEE employs 1,900 people worldwide and more than 1 % of the company's workforce is engaged in Research & Development.