If seven airbags weren’t enough, Hyundai Motor Group—the parent company behind Hyundai and Kia has found a way to squeeze at least one more with the announcement that they’ve been developing center side airbags.
Though they sort of look like cuddle pillows, Hyundai says they do a very good job of separating the space between the driver and passenger in the case of a crash.
They said that the additional airbag expands to cover the space between the driver and front passenger preventing head injuries of those in the front row. The center side airbag is installed inside the driver’s seat and will deploy once the impact is sensed.
The new center side airbag is expected to diminish head injuries caused by passengers colliding with each other by 80 percent. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association’s statistics, the rate of secondary damage caused by these kinds of collisions or from hitting interior materials is about 45 percent.
The Group has applied newly patented technology to maintain reliability, but reduce the weight and size of the airbag.
For instance, the airbag has an internal component which tethers the airbag to maintain its form and withstand the passenger’s weight. Hyundai has also developed a new technology to simplify the design and reduce the weight of component produce an airbag which is about 500 grams lighter than the competing products. Thanks to the smaller size of the airbag, the Group’s design teams will have more flexibility in the type of seat design they envision for future products.
The new center airbag is expected to be deployed soon, particularly from 2020 onward when the Euro NCAP crash safety tests are updated to include side impacts.
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