Ford is researching integrating new airbags into the car’s exterior – Illustration: CarBuzz
Pursuant to the copyright filed by Ford with the U.S. Patent and Copyright Office and endorsed by carb Revealed this week, the American brand is considering a very interesting device. Specifically, they want to install an “airbag” in the front bumper of their car models to limit the impact on pedestrians.
Ford’s device is named “Inflatable Front Bumper”. This device is placed both above and below the regular front bumper, acting like a conventional airbag. When collision sensors detect a collision, this device will deploy immediately.
However, this size of the device is not sufficient to protect everyone affected. Their effect is simply to limit the impact on the victim’s legs and prevent them from being swept under the vehicle.
In the future, cars may have multiple exterior airbags to limit the impact between vehicle-person and vehicle-vehicle collisions – Photo: YOUCAR
In recent days, the North American crash and safety testing organization IIHS has issued frequent warnings about the harmful effects of the proliferation of large SUVs and pickup trucks. They encourage car manufacturers to redesign the front of the car to limit the impact on those affected.
However, this is not an easy factor, as the front end of SUVs/pickup trucks is often built higher to improve the approach angle.
Ford is one of the car brands with the most clearly differentiated lineup. They have eliminated all hatchbacks and sedans since the beginning of this decade, focusing instead on SUVs and pickup trucks. The similarity between both the above vehicle segments is that they are larger in size and weight, thus posing a greater threat to pedestrians when they collide with them.
So, it makes sense that Ford, in recent times, has been trying to find solutions to limit injuries to people who are hit by the above vehicles.
(TagstoTranslate)Airbag(T)Outer Airbag(T)Ford
