Hyundai develops world’s first multi-collision airbag system

Car accidents happen from time to time, so a vehicle with an airbag or set of airbags should be one of the top factors to consider when buying a brand new ride. In this case, Hyundai Motor Group wants to improve its safety feature with the development and future commercialization of the world’s first multi-collision airbag.

Just a brief background, a data from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that about 30 percent of 56,000 accidents from 2000 to 2012 in North American region involved multi-collision. Moreover, the leading causes of multi-collision events include crossing the centerline of the road, hitting the toll gates, and also crashing to trees and electrical poles. So looking into this alarming scenario, Hyundai purposely designed the new airbag system to significantly improve airbag performance when more than one car crash happens.

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This latest technology aims to reduce the risk of the driver and passengers’ injuries from multi-crash accidents. Currently, the airbag systems we have today do not offer secondary protection when the initial impact is not enough to trigger the airbag deployment. This is where the new airbag system comes into the scene.

Hyundai’s new multi-collision airbag system is attached with numerous sensors to detect the positions of the people inside the vehicle after the first collision. This setup, as well as the collision intensity are then analyzed so the airbags can deploy faster during secondary impacts to ensure that the occupants are protected.

“By improving airbag performance in multi-collision scenarios, we expect to significantly improve the safety of our drivers and passengers. We will continue our research on more diverse crash situations as part of our commitment to producing even safer vehicles that protect occupants and prevent injuries.”

Taesoo Chi
Head of Chassis Technology Center at Hyundai Motor Group

To make this innovation more effective, Hyundai evaluated different multi-collision situations in diverse ways to enhance airbag performance and precision in secondary collisions.

The Korean marque plans to implement the multi-collision airbag system in future Hyundai models, as well as the vehicles of its subsidiary Kia.