This paper highlights some of the trends and ideas concerning airbag technology at the turn of the 20th century. At the turn of this century, smart, tailored airbag systems are expected as a part of the integrated car occupant protection strategy, avoiding unnecessary risks, especially for `out-of-position' passengers, children and at low impact speeds. The gas generator technology has reached a technological level which allows solutions for a smart, tailorable system configuration. Future gas generators will be inexpensive, easy to handle, non-toxic and tailorable to specific applications. Airbag system configuration has to be adapted to different requirements, for instance, to avoid that the airbag becomes unintentionally dangerous to the vehicle occupant. Future systems will be less aggressive and tailored to specific crash scenarios. An important conclusion is that airbag technology improvements in car occupant protection are needed.
Samenvatting