Honda plans to begin applying its advanced airbag design to new products in the United States in 2020.
Development and testing of the new airbag was led by engineers at Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Ohio in partnership with Autoliv, one of the company's safety systems suppliers.
The new design is based on Honda's commitment to developing technologies that better protect vehicle occupants in a wide range of crash scenarios.
In 2017, upwards of 37,000 people lost their lives on US roadways as a result of motor vehicle traffic crashes, a slight decrease from the previous two years, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
"This new airbag technology represents Honda's continuing effort to advance safety performance in a wider variety of crash scenarios and reflects the innovative thinking that our engineers are bringing to the challenge of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities," said Jim Keller, President of Honda R&D Americas, Inc.
Honda's next-generation airbag is designed to reduce the potential for injuries that can occur in a wider variety of frontal impacts.
It is particularly beneficial in angled frontal impacts in which lateral collision forces can cause an occupant's head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury.
Unlike conventional airbag systems that rely on a single inflatable compartment, the new system utilizes four major components: three inflated compartments - a center chamber and two outward-projecting side chambers that create a wide base across the dash - along with a "sail panel" that stretches between the two side chambers at their outermost edge.
Operating something like a baseball catcher's mitt, the sail panel catches and decelerates the occupant's head while also engaging the side chambers, pulling them inward to cradle and protect the head, mitigating the potential for injury.
