A growing interest in electromechanical brakes (EMB) is discernible in the
automotive industry finding its climax in an announcement of EMB series
production in late 2022 [1]. The
introduction of EMB allows for new design opportunities using distributed
software on smart actuators. However, additional efforts are needed to ensure
continuously high levels of safety even when established design principles in
the brake system are changed.
This article discusses different safety concepts that could potentially be put in
place in EMB actuators. Therefore, safety goals that need to be satisfied by an
actuator are derived. Furthermore, three different degrees of complexity are
differentiated, evolving to different required electronic control units (ECU)
and architectures. Additionally, also the safety of the actuation unit (AU) is
considered to realize a holistic safety concept for the actuator. Finally, a
conclusion is drawn comparing the different investigated concepts.