TRW unveils new generation of adaptive airbags

TRW Automotive Holdings has announced its next generation of adaptive frontal passenger airbags. The dual contour passenger airbag is capable of adjusting both the airbag pressure and size to help tailor protection according to occupant size and other variables of a crash.
March 26, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
601 TRW Automotive Holdings has announced its next generation of adaptive frontal passenger airbags. The dual contour passenger airbag is capable of adjusting both the airbag pressure and size to help tailor protection according to occupant size and other variables of a crash.

Norbert Kagerer, vice president of engineering for TRW's Occupant Safety Systems business, commented: "Adaptive occupant safety technologies began with the introduction of dual stage inflators over a decade ago and have progressed to include not only factors such as deployment force, but also the bag geometry, stiffness and shape as the bag deploys. TRW's next generation adaptive airbags combine all of these elements to help enhance the safety of occupants according to their size, the speed and force of the crash, occupant position, belted versus unbelted and more.

"For example, TRW is already in production with its 'SAVe' active venting system that adapts to the position of the passenger and will soften the airbag through supplemental vents in the airbag module to allow some of the gases to be expelled when the passenger is in closer proximity to the airbag when it deploys."

TRW is taking a further step with the dual contour airbag that utilises sensor inputs to determine occupant size and can tailor the bag size and shape to smaller or larger occupants through the use of a tether activation unit that will present the right size and shape of the bag based on the particular crash variables.

The company  anticipates that its next generation of adaptive airbags will be ready for production by 2013.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Vision technology: the future in focus
    November 23, 2018
    Just a few years ago, terms such as ‘embedded’ and ‘polarisation’ were buzzwords. But now they are real and present examples of vision technology in action – and, Adam Hill finds, the ITS industry is waking up to a number of possible applications Every aspect of the intelligent transportation systems industry moves quickly – but developments in camera technology change with a rapidity which can appear quite bewildering. And with ITS providers constantly searching for an edge against fierce competitio
    Read More
  • Smart Spanish city trials cell-based traffic management
    November 7, 2013
    David Crawford reports on an urban electronic nervous system. The northern Spanish city of Santander – historically a port - is now an emerging technology showcase attracting global attention as a prototype for a medium-sized smart city of the future. In a move to determine the optimal use of available data, it is creating a de-facto experimental laboratory for sensor and mobile phone-based urban traffic management and environmental monitoring innovations.
    Read More
  • The twisting path to enforcement’s future
    June 5, 2014
    Survey reveals some division of views about enforcement’s future as Colin Sowman discovers. Technological advances and legislative changes pose many questions for those involved in road enforcement, ranging from the changing demands of privacy and data protection legislation to the practicalities on multi-speed enforcement. So to get the industry’s views ITS International took soundings on some of these bigger questions. In a world where many vehicles are fitted with GPS linked ‘black box’ telematics system
    Read More
  • New constellation will add accuracy and security to GNSS services
    December 20, 2013
    With Galileo’s early services scheduled to start next year, Fiammetta Diani is enthusiastic about the opportunities the EU’s GNSS system will offer. Next year will be a very exciting one for Galileo, the EU’s fledgling satellite constellation; additional satellites are scheduled for launch and, as European Commission Vice President Tajani recently announced, early operational services will be starting towards the end of 2014. So it really is ‘all systems go’ as Fiammetta Diani, market development officer in
    Read More

Highlighted Content