Airbag (VR Arena)

2006

National Crash Analysis Center, University of Washington (US)
VISENSO

The entire airbag deployment process takes about 50 milliseconds.

Here, it’s easy to see how the driver’s head makes contact with the airbag at the precise moment when the airbag has achieved maximum inflation. Then, just enough gas escapes through a tiny opening in the rear of the airbag to allow the driver’s head to be gently cushioned. Restraint bands in the interior of the airbag can be clearly made out; they assure that the airbag maintains the optimal pillow shape. This calculation is especially complex due to the fact that, to start, the airbag is folded more than 50 times and stowed within the steering wheel; thus, each step of the calculation calls for absolute assurance that the individual sections aren’t wedged together and sticking out.

National Crash Analysis Center, University of Washington in collaboration with VISENSO