Brose sweated the details to create its hands-free liftgate nearly a decade ago. The system had to work correctly when its sensors identified a proper kicking motion — and ignore everything else.
- 2013: Brose North America Inc.
- Trade name: Hands-free liftgate
- Innovation: A kick-activated rear liftgate
- Why it resonated: The simple and inexpensive feature let vehicle owners open their liftgate with a kicking motion when their hands were full, but ignored a wide range of similar motions, such as the family dog running past the sensors.
The key was to give the system an electronic "picture" of the range of possible kicks — from humans of all sizes — that should be considered valid, and have it rule out all other sensor signals.
Brose tested and retested to rule out occurrences such as a ball rolling under the vehicle, dogs running past the back of the vehicle, shopping carts bumping into the liftgate, children playing nearby and so on.
Brose also had to resist pressures from automakers that wanted to bring the hands-free liftgate to market quickly, before it was flawless.
In addition to working just right, Brose's product was lightweight and used little energy. And because it used standard proximity sensors and could be installed on any vehicle that had a keyless entry system and an electronic latch release, it was simple and inexpensive.
It debuted in 2011 on the BMW 5 series and soon had an order rate of 40 percent — proof that customers immediately understood the benefit of being able to open the liftgate when their arms were full. It rapidly spread to vehicles in numerous other automakers' lineups.