Self Driving Cars Will Need An Entirely Different Type Of Airbag

It's a common refrain that self-driving cars will change everything. Aside from being a good piece of forward-thinking ad copy, it represents a major challenge for suppliers. Consider the humble airbag. Current airbags are designed to work in cars where all occupants face forward and are restrained by seat belts. But none of that can be taken for granted when it comes to self-driving cars. Without the need for manual controls, future cars could have inward-facing seats, screens everywhere, and other features that make car interiors more like mobile living rooms.

German automotive supplier ZF is already trying to prepare for that future. It believes seat-mounted airbags may be the answer, according to Wired. ZF already has a seat-mounted airbag, which was designed to prevent occupants' heads from hitting things during a side impact. It hopes to adapt that design for future self-driving cars.

TomM - 6/9/2017 3:27:46 PM

+2 Boost

The basic point of the airbag was to restrict physical movement of the person in the seat to prevent "whiplash" type injuries. That is unlikely to be something that can be IN THE SEAT the person is in. I would suggest that while the car is stationary - the seats could be spun around - but they will need to be facing toward the air bag unit when the car is moving.

MDarringer - 6/9/2017 9:56:52 PM

-1 Boost

I think driverless cars should have no safety devices so that when there is a wreck, more fatalities of the "right" people will happen.

SanJoseDriver - 6/10/2017 2:26:47 AM

0 Boost

Not sure exactly what that is supposed to mean

MDarringer - 6/10/2017 9:59:44 AM

-1 Boost

@SanJoseDriver Stupid people need to die.

SanJoseDriver - 6/11/2017 11:03:40 PM

+2 Boost

Wow, that is a little harsh even for you. I would not think that people that want to reduce the probability of their own death are not the stupid ones.

SanJoseDriver - 6/11/2017 11:06:03 PM

+2 Boost

Typo: I would not think that people that want to reduce the probability of their own death are the stupid ones.

Big context change there. I would hope we all get to live longer and more productively due to safer cars.

carloslassiter - 6/11/2017 10:09:04 PM

+3 Boost

The idiocy spewed on these pages is staggering.

MDarringer is apparently making the argument that having human drivers is safer, and that anyone who would use the driverless cars which will be everywhere in the next few years is "stupid".

How ironic is that?