Wednesday, September 24, 2008
2008 R&D 100 Winner
Smart airbags have enhanced sensing systems coupled to airbags which contained dual-level inflators. The dual-level inflators essentially could make a large amount of gas, resulting in a stiffer bag or small amount of gas, resulting in a softer bag, and the sensing system was designed to choose the mode depending on the crash situation. A large occupant would get a stiffer bag while a smaller occupant would get a softer bag. While this smart airbag system is an improvement over single-stage airbags, it is still not optimal, which led researchers at Key Safety Systems, Inc., Sterling Heights, Mich., to create the Adaptive Passenger Airbag Module, which offers increased protection of small occupants in collisions while at the same time reducing the airbag weight, size, and cost by more than 30%. The Adaptive Airbag improves the way that gas is managed by generating the same amount of gas in each instance but expelling a portion of the gas and not letting it enter the airbag via a programmable vent. This allows the Adaptive Module to offer a full bag for all occupants and adjust airbag pressures to tune restraint performance to minimize injury risk for all occupants.
Technology
Smart airbag system
Developers
Key Safety Systems, Inc.
