Thanks to Anton van Zanten's ESP, cars no longer fly out of control
In the series Innovation Maestros, we discuss innovations from our little country that are shaking up the tech world. Today: inventor Anton van Zanten on ESP.
Published on September 27, 2024
Everything new is wildly interesting! That's the motto of our DATA+ expert, Elcke Vels. She writes stories about AI and how it affects our society, has a series on cyber security, and interviews Dutch innovation maestros. In her “What if...” column, she also explores intriguing scenarios that deviate from the status quo.
Cars have undergone a tremendous transformation over the past hundred years. Once it started with a two-wheeled cookie-can and a simple seat belt. Now our cars are sophisticated machines packed with clever software. Anton van Zanten invented the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), a complex system that prevents vehicles from swaying or spinning out of control in dangerous situations. “I was stunned at how well it worked, even on ice,” he said.
Those who want to know how ESP came about must go back to 1940 Sumatra. Anton van Zanten was born in Indonesia but moved with his family to Apeldoorn at the age of ten. After his military service, the inventor-to-be decided to study at the Technical High School in Eindhoven, where he laid the foundation for his later innovations.
After completing his studies and gaining research experience in Iran and the U.S., Van Zanten settled in Germany with his wife in the 1970s. There he found a job at Bosch, where he soon became involved in the development of ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) for trucks. This technology was revolutionary: it ensured that vehicles remained steerable even under vigorous braking. Yet Van Zanten soon discovered a crucial flaw. ABS did manage to prevent wheel lock-up. Still, the problem of swaying, especially on wet or slippery roads, had not been solved.
Control over the vehicle
“I felt there had to be a system continuously monitoring a vehicle's stability, not just during braking. ESP (Electronic Stability Program) does just that: it intervenes as soon as the car is in danger of losing control, regardless of whether you are braking hard, accelerating too much, or driving through a slippery curve.” ESP uses sensors to measure whether the car is becoming unbalanced and automatically adjusts the brakes and engine power to bring the car back on track.
With that, ESP is much more complex than ABS, the inventor explains. “Consequently, the software program is ten times larger. It's quite complicated.”
The Arctic Circle
The idea was there. The years that followed were all about simulations, testing, making mistakes, and starting over. “I started in 1982 with simulations for ESP on the computer. In 1984, I got a group of collaborators with whom I could test my idea. The first big milestone was that we could prove that on normal streets the car no longer swayed,” recalls the inventor. But the car also had to have a grip in even colder, slippery conditions. So: on to the Arctic Circle. “We traveled to northern Sweden to conduct tests there. There Bosch rented a large frozen lake (ice thickness 80cm - 150cm), partly covered with snow. To swing the car, I performed all kinds of maneuvers: sharp turns, quick swerve and so on. I was stunned at how well our system worked. I tried my best to get the car to sway, but I couldn't do it, even on ice.”
That was the moment Van Zanten first realized: ESP is going to make a world of difference in the auto industry.
Skepticism
But a well-functioning system does not yet automatically guarantee worldwide acceptance. Van Zanten: “At Bosch, they often laughed at me in the early stages. A developer at FIAT even told me that he no longer enjoyed driving because of ESP, because he could no longer sway as he was used to. It was clear: not everyone was enthusiastic right away.”
Entering the market
That is, until Mercedes took the system by storm. In the beginning, ESP was seen mainly as a luxury. The system was built into the automaker's more expensive models, such as the S-Class. But in 1997, Mercedes made a groundbreaking decision: they decided to install ESP as standard in all their A-Class models: a much more affordable class of car.
Other car manufacturers could not be left behind and began to integrate the system into their mid-class models as well. From then on, ESP production at Bosch took off. Eventually, the system was embraced worldwide. In Europe, it has been mandatory in all new cars since 2014, and not much later the rest of the world followed suit.
The results in terms of driving safety are astounding. About 80% of crashes due to swerving are prevented, representing hundreds of thousands of heavy accidents per year in Europe.
Collaborating with ABS inventor
Now, many years later, the inventor looks back on his career with pleasure. He won many awards. In 2016, he received the prestigious European Inventor Award for his “electronic guardian angel. A recognition that came later than many expected. “But better late than never,” he says, smiling.
Although officially retired, Van Zanten remains involved in important developments in the automotive industry. “I still work with my former chief at Bosch, the father of ABS, on new ideas and innovations. We are now looking at ways to integrate everything into one system: the pedal, the master cylinder, brake amplifier, ABS, and ESP. Small, light, and cheap. That's the future.”