Honda has just designed a safer front-passenger airbag

HONDA announced it has developed a new front-passenger airbag which can better protect occupants in a wide range of frontal collision scenarios, including angled crashes between vehicles, or a vehicle and another object.

Honda said it plans to begin using this latest airbag design to new products in the US in 2020.

Development and testing of the new airbag were led by engineers at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Ohio. These were conducted together with Autoliv, one of the company’s safety systems suppliers.

“This new airbag technology represents Honda’s continuing effort to advance safety performance in a wider variety of crash scenarios and reflects the innovative thinking that our engineers are bringing to the challenge of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities,” said Jim Keller, president of Honda R&D Americas, Inc. “[T]his type of breakthrough safety technology will have far-reaching effects on peoples’ lives for many years to come.”

The carmaker said its next-generation airbag reduces the potential for injuries that can occur in a wider variety of frontal impacts. It is particularly beneficial in angled frontal impacts in which lateral collision forces can cause an occupant’s head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury.

Unlike conventional airbag systems relying on a single inflatable compartment, the new system utilizes four major components: three inflated compartments — a center chamber and two outward-projecting side chambers that create a wide base across the dash — along with a “sail panel” that stretches between the two side chambers at their outermost edge. Operating something like a baseball catcher’s mitt, the sail panel catches and decelerates the occupant’s head while also engaging the side chambers, pulling them inward to cradle and protect the head. This, Honda said, mitigates the potential for injury. 

The new airbag technology is the result of Honda’s study of real-world crashes, along with research and testing conducted at the company’s safety research center in Ohio. Honda said this safety center is one the most sophisticated facilities for safety research, development and testing in the world, and includes facilities dedicated to advanced crash simulations, pedestrian safety, collision testing and advanced restraint system development and tuning.