Cars will soon have external airbags.
This external airbag system will help keep the car and driver safer in a collision on the road.
Supplier ZF is developing an external airbag for cars that it plans to put into production within the next two years. The company displayed an external airbag system at the 2018 airbag symposium in Germany.
The system is quite similar to the technology used for airbags inside cars. This type of airbag is 2-3 times larger than a standard internal airbag. The big difference is that the external airbag requires more inflators.
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| Side airbags are designed as shields to limit unexpected accidents from the outside. Photo:ZF. |
ZF has developed a concept system that is placed on the side of the vehicle and activates when the vehicle is involved in an accident from both sides. During testing, ZF discovered that the outer protective layer reduces the rate of injury to the occupants by up to 40%.
A computer system, sensors, cameras are responsible for detecting when the airbag should deploy. Accuracy is the top priority. Airbag failure due to software or hardware issues is a headache for many people, but it is even more disastrous if the side airbag suddenly deploys due to a sensor error. Imagine parking your car next to someone or another car and the giant airbag suddenly deploys.
ZF says it is confident in its software and technology to avoid such an incident. The system can detect a hazard and deploy the airbag within 100 milliseconds. The airbag will be fully inflated before the object or another vehicle hits it.
The company also said it is trying to adapt to the autonomous car movement and think of ways to keep people safe inside. For example, it envisions a future where drivers wander around the cabin or recline in their seats. These changes require a whole new set of passive safety systems.
