Cars will soon have external airbags.
This external airbag system will help keep the car and driver safer in the event of 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 showed off 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 will be designed as a shield, limiting unexpected accidents from the outside. Photo:ZF. |
ZF has developed a concept system that is placed on the side of the vehicle and is activated in the event of a side impact. During testing, ZF found that the outer protective layer reduces the risk of injury to occupants by up to 40%.
A system of computers, sensors, and cameras is responsible for detecting when the airbag should deploy. Accuracy is paramount. It’s frustrating when an airbag doesn’t deploy due to a software or hardware issue, but it’s even more disastrous when a side airbag deploys due to a faulty sensor. Imagine parking your car next to someone or another car and the giant airbag 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 an object or another vehicle hits it.
The company also said it is trying to adapt to the autonomous vehicle movement and think about 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.
