History And Brief Intro of Front Center Airbag
In 2011, General Motors (GM) introduced 'Front Center Airbag' in the automobile industry for the first time in the world. This airbag was introduced and later used in the cars in order to protect the driver and the passenger from side-impact crashes.
It is placed between the driver's and front passenger's seats. This reduces the on head injury to the passenger as well as to the driver in case of a side collision as in a side collision the passenger and the driver are likely to bump into each other at a very fast rate of speed causing high impact injuries to both the people which is minimized with the help of this type of airbag by creating a soft barrier between both.
The front center airbag is expected to add to the vehicles' record of third-party crash test performance. The 2012 model year editions of a few midsize crossovers have received five-star Overall and Side Crash safety ratings from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program, and 2011 Top Safety Picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse were the first three cars in the world to be equipped with this type of airbag back in 2013. This was made possible by a team lead by Scott Thomas from GM and Richard Wiik from Takata when both the companies joined hands and aimed at developing and bringing to market the first of its kind 'Front Center Airbag'. It took them around 5 years and nearly half a dozen patents. The companies admit that they had carried out surveys and collected enough data to come to the conclusion that in a lot of incidents if this airbag would have been present, injuries could have been minimized even to their lowest. They said that their stats showed that in a majority of incidents, injuries occur in an accident when the driver and the front passenger collide into each other and that it could be minimized with the technology and presence of 'Front Center Airbag'.
Working and Implications of Front Center Airbag
The airbag's shape is a bit curved so that it doesn't bump-out on the driver's face and startle him in case of an accident. The shape also helps in the airbag to cover the driver so that he doesn't fly all around the cabin to the front passenger and hit him. The airbag is said to be deployed only in the situation of a T-Bone accident or a rollover incident. If the sensors sense an impact from front or behind, the airbag will not deploy however the other usual airbags will do their work. However, when needed, the 'Front Center Airbag' will deploy from the driver's seat after the sensors sense the impact and then it will become a soft cushion-like barrier between the driver and the passenger so as they do not bump into each other and cause high impact injuries. The airbag is fitted in the driver's seat along with airbag packaging, sensors, an inflation module and the electronics and is deployed in case of a T-Bone incident or a rollover crash.
CURRENT SCENARIO
The upcoming European Honda Jazz 2020 is said to feature the 'Front Center Airbag ', making it a total of 10 airbags in the car. This is Honda's first offering from its European lineup to feature a 'Front Center Airbag'. Honda is claiming that this will minimize head injury by 85% for near side passenger and 98% for far side passenger.
In September 2019, even Hyundai Motors had announced that its too developing 'Front Center Airbags' and will be featuring them in the upcoming Hyundai cars in 2020. It claims that this approach would reduce the head injuries by 80% and even in a situation where only the driver is present, it would deploy in order to protect him from the hard impact from the passenger side gate and other hardware parts present there.
An airbag was first introduced to the world in 1919 when a patent was submitted by two dentists Harold Round and Arthur Parrott of Birmingham, England which later was approved and registered in 1920. However, airbags specifically to be used for automobiles were introduced to the world on 5 August, 1952 by an American, John W. Hetrick which was later approved and registered by the United States Patent Office on 18 August, 1953.
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with a soft cushioning and restraint during a crash event. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the interior of the vehicle. In layman's words, an airbag is a mechanism that protects us from getting injured in case of any mishappening or an accident.
Types of Airbags
Airbags till now have explored a lot of places for them to hide inside a car like:-
- Front Airbag
- Side Airbag
- Side Torso Airbag
- Curtain Airbag
- Knee Airbag
- Seat Belt Airbag
- Roll-Sensing Curtain Airbag (RSCA)
- Rear Curtain Airbag
- Seat Cushion Airbag
Out of a lot of the types of airbags mentioned above, most of them have made their way to the cars driving on the Indian roads. But Front Center Airbag is still not that common.
History And Brief Intro of Front Center Airbag
In 2011, General Motors (GM) introduced 'Front Center Airbag' in the automobile industry for the first time in the world. This airbag was introduced and later used in the cars in order to protect the driver and the passenger from side-impact crashes.
It is placed between the driver's and front passenger's seats. This reduces the on head injury to the passenger as well as to the driver in case of a side collision as in a side collision the passenger and the driver are likely to bump into each other at a very fast rate of speed causing high impact injuries to both the people which is minimized with the help of this type of airbag by creating a soft barrier between both.
The front center airbag is expected to add to the vehicles' record of third-party crash test performance. The 2012 model year editions of a few midsize crossovers have received five-star Overall and Side Crash safety ratings from NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program, and 2011 Top Safety Picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia, and Chevrolet Traverse were the first three cars in the world to be equipped with this type of airbag back in 2013. This was made possible by a team lead by Scott Thomas from GM and Richard Wiik from Takata when both the companies joined hands and aimed at developing and bringing to market the first of its kind 'Front Center Airbag'. It took them around 5 years and nearly half a dozen patents. The companies admit that they had carried out surveys and collected enough data to come to the conclusion that in a lot of incidents if this airbag would have been present, injuries could have been minimized even to their lowest. They said that their stats showed that in a majority of incidents, injuries occur in an accident when the driver and the front passenger collide into each other and that it could be minimized with the technology and presence of 'Front Center Airbag'.
Working and Implications of Front Center Airbag
The airbag's shape is a bit curved so that it doesn't bump-out on the driver's face and startle him in case of an accident. The shape also helps in the airbag to cover the driver so that he doesn't fly all around the cabin to the front passenger and hit him. The airbag is said to be deployed only in the situation of a T-Bone accident or a rollover incident. If the sensors sense an impact from front or behind, the airbag will not deploy however the other usual airbags will do their work. However, when needed, the 'Front Center Airbag' will deploy from the driver's seat after the sensors sense the impact and then it will become a soft cushion-like barrier between the driver and the passenger so as they do not bump into each other and cause high impact injuries. The airbag is fitted in the driver's seat along with airbag packaging, sensors, an inflation module and the electronics and is deployed in case of a T-Bone incident or a rollover crash.
CURRENT SCENARIO
The upcoming European Honda Jazz 2020 is said to feature the 'Front Center Airbag ', making it a total of 10 airbags in the car. This is Honda's first offering from its European lineup to feature a 'Front Center Airbag'. Honda is claiming that this will minimize head injury by 85% for near side passenger and 98% for far side passenger.
In September 2019, even Hyundai Motors had announced that its too developing 'Front Center Airbags' and will be featuring them in the upcoming Hyundai cars in 2020. It claims that this approach would reduce the head injuries by 80% and even in a situation where only the driver is present, it would deploy in order to protect him from the hard impact from the passenger side gate and other hardware parts present there.
