Arnold NextG Blogspot: Why Drive-by-Wire Operates More Safely Than Humans

Trust is good. Redundancy is better.

Humans are prone to error – fatigue, distraction, emotions, or simply delayed reactions often lead to critical situations in road traffic or industrial environments. Autonomous mobility therefore requires systems that are not just as good as humans, but better.

Drive-by-Wire technologies such as NX NextMotion operate on the basis of mathematical precision, real-time analysis, and continuous redundancy. They do not merely react – they proactively prevent dangerous situations.

Human vs. Machine – A Fact Check

When directly comparing human capabilities with NX NextMotion, the advantages of the system become clear:

• Reaction time: While a human needs between 500 and 800 milliseconds, NX NextMotion processes signals in less than 10 milliseconds.
• Environmental awareness: Humans rely on limited visual perception, whereas NX NextMotion uses 360° sensor fusion from LiDAR, radar, and cameras.
• Stability control: Human control is manual and error-prone, NX NextMotion acts automatically and predictively.
• Multitasking: Humans can only handle multiple tasks to a limited extent, NX NextMotion processes data streams in parallel and in real time.
• Decision-making: Human decisions are often emotional and subjective, NX NextMotion operates rule-based and statistically optimized.

Conclusion: NX “thinks” faster, “sees” more, and reacts more precisely – even at night, in fog, under stress, or in case of partial failures.

Fail-Operational Instead of Limp Mode

Safety is not only defined by reaction speed, but by how a system behaves when components fail. Conventional systems typically operate “fail-safe” – shutting down in case of an error. In highly critical driving scenarios, this is not sufficient.

NX NextMotion is designed to be fail-operational:

• Redundant ECUs automatically take over if one unit fails.
• Communication is routed via multiple independent channels (SAFE-CAN, Automotive Ethernet).
• 2oo3 validation filters faulty signals before they are executed.

• Actuators are redundant with separate power supplies.

The result: no loss of control, even in the event of individual component failures.

When Every Millisecond Counts

What really matters is not how systems perform under normal conditions, but how they react in extreme situations. This is where the true difference between human and machine becomes visible – and where the advantages of fully digital control unfold.

• Black ice or aquaplaning: NX measures friction values in real time, recalculates vectors, and dynamically adjusts steering and braking forces.
• Sudden Obstacle at Higher Speeds: While a human often oversteers or reacts too late, NX initiates precise countermeasures within milliseconds
• Power supply or actuator failure: The system isolates the fault, compensates, and remains fully controllable.

Conclusion: A New Definition of Driving Safety

Drive-by-Wire does not mean less control – it means more control, always. Especially when it truly matters. Arnold NextG does not build prototypes. We build systems you can trust your life with.

We control what moves.