Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Centre Airbag System to Introduce in Future Cars
As cars become more advanced and faster with time, so does the need for improvement of safety systems for the occupants. Considering the case of a side-impact protection, we all would imagine the curtain airbag to deploy cushioning our upper torso from the car door. But what happen when the body is pushed to the other side? There is no form of restraining or support system to prevent the body from shifting extensively towards the inside of the cabin. The safety engineers have been working to address the concern of ‘far-side’ safety issue. The new airbag technology has been developed by ZF TRW which could see its presence in the vehicles of carmakers to make their products safer.
Speaking on the new safety feature, Dirk Schultz, global engineering director, ZF TRW Inflatable Restraints Systems said, “Interest in this issue and this technology is rising. Euro NCAP is currently assessing new side impact test protocols for 2018 and beyond. If implemented, many new vehicles could require far-side airbag modules.”
The new centre airbag will be located on the inner side of the seat back and when deployed will provide protection to the head, shoulder and torso areas of the front occupants. In a far-side impact, the airbag supports the occupant to be held in its place and reduces the horizontal whiplash undergone in an event of crash. The centre airbag also help to isolate the driver and front seat passenger from colliding with each other.
Also on the road towards safety, Euro NCAP had mentioned that, “Protection in far side crashes has been largely overlooked in safety testing, even though restraint technology to counter injuries sustained in far side impact has recently been matured to a mass production level and launched in other markets. By addressing far side crashes more effectively, the fatalities and serious injuries in side crashes on European roads can be reduced further.”
TRW automotive operates as part of ZF Group which is involved in 'Active & Passive Safety Technology' for the automotive market.
