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EMB (Electro-Mechanical Brake) which converts electrical motor power to brake clamping force at each wheel is a system that has been investigated and developed by various automotive part suppliers through the years. In particular, as the number of electrically powered vehicles, such as hybrid electric vehicles, electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles, has expanded, the EMB has received increased interest due to its fast response that is much suited for effective cooperative control with regenerative braking. However, issues such as cost competitiveness, reliability and regulations need to be solved for commercialization [1-2]. A new concept, the hybrid Electro-Mechanical Brake (hEMB) is characterized by a dual piston structure linked by hydraulics inside of the caliper. It is possible to reduce the required motor power and increase the level of emergency back-up braking through the amplification effect of the dual piston mechanism [3].

Electro-Mechanical Brake (EMB) is the brake system that is actuated by electrical energy and has a similar design with the Electric Parking Brake (EPB). It uses motor power and gears to provide the necessary torque and a screw & nut mechanism is used to convert the rotational movement into a translational one. The main difference of EMB compared with EPB is that the functional requirements of components are much higher to provide the necessary performance for service braking such as response time. Such highly responsive and independent brake actuators at each wheel lead to enhanced controllability which should result in not only better basic braking performance, but also improvements in various active braking functions such as integrated chassis control, driver assistance systems, or cooperative regenerative braking.

A Brake By Wire (BBW) system is generally composed of electro-mechanical calipers at each wheel, a pedal simulator and a central controller. The brake demand is processed by the pedal and the central controller commands the brake distribution for each brake actuator. The highly responsive and independent brake actuators lead to enhanced controllability which should result in not only better basic braking performance, but also improvements in various active braking functions such as integrated chassis control, driver assistance systems, or cooperative regenerative braking. Although the BBW system has the potential for numerous advantages and innovations in braking, it has yet to be successfully introduced in series production mainly due to safety and cost concerns. Recent studies have been made to investigate the functional safety aspects and additional mechanical backup measures in this regard.

Brake-By-Wire (BBW) is a term used to describe next generation brake systems that rely on motor driven electro-mechanical calipers in place of conventional hydraulic components such as the booster, master cylinder, hydraulic unit, and parking brake. Instead the system configuration is simplified to a pedal simulator, electro-mechanical calipers that require no boosting, and electric control units. The active, highly-responsive, and independent control of the brake actuators at each wheel allows for great control flexibility and improved brake performance. It is also very well-suited for easy integration with cooperative regenerative braking and driver assistance functions. Although such potential and innovations have driven the interest and research into BBW systems through the years, it has yet to be successfully introduced in series production mainly due to the underlying perception of the lack of reliability of electronic components and overall cost concerns.

The importance of functional safety design has recently grown with the increasing widespread application of electric/electronic (E/E) systems in today's automotive industry. Such E/E systems, usually composed of mechatronic actuators, various sensors, and electronic control units (ECU), have become too complex to be handled in the conventional quality management manner that was used for most predominantly mechanical applications. ISO/DIS 26262, an adaptation of the pre-existing IEC 61508 requirements specifically for the automotive industry, has been prepared as the global standard to meet such demands for a more structured and systematic approach to functional safety design. The functional safety concept design includes a hazard analysis and risk assessment phase that is based on ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level) categorization. ASIL has four levels, A, B, C, and D, where A has the lowest risk and D has the highest.