With Indian consumers now focusing on safety more than affordability, OEMs have finally started prioritizing safety equipment onboard. And one of the most crucial safety components onboard a car is the airbag, which is all set to take over the roof as well. Yes, we are talking about Roof Mounted Airbags! Read on to know more.
Roof Mounted Airbags: The Future
Airbags have evolved over the years and are now an integral part of vehicles around the globe. Airbags are mounted across several places inside a car, from the steering to the seats, to save passengers from fatal accidents in case things go south.
However, despite strategic placement across several places, passengers are also exposed to the risk of incurring fatal injuries from the roof in cases of a vehicle rollover. This is where a roof airbag comes into the picture. Inflating within fractions of a second, airbags for the roof are envisioned to protect passengers from leaving through the sunroof or incurring major injuries in event of a vehicle rollover.
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The Tech Behind
As per Hyundai Mobis R&D centres, Roof Mounted airbags will be strategically mounted near/ around the sunroof, with sensors tuned to detect when a collision or rollover takes place. The airbag will be coated with silicone which will help the airbag maintain its shape for about 6 seconds. The mounting will also include stainless wires to help with efficient deployment. As per Mobis, roof-mounted airbags can spread in about 0.08 seconds.
Currently, in development, even Ford has filed a patent for Roof Mounted airbags. According to the patent details, the airbags will be placed in ring-like modules above each passenger seat. With such a placement, it is possible that these airbags will debut on SUVs, which have good headroom for the airbags to deploy.
So this was all about roof-mounted airbags, currently, in its R&D stage, roof-mounted airbags will actually take time to arrive, but nonetheless, it is a good step towards the evolution of safety equipment.
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