Volvo has introduced a new seat belt technology that allows customization of the protection it provides in real time. The automaker calls it a “multi-adaptive seat belt” system, which uses data input from internal and external sensors to change protection settings based on various factors. It can take into account a person’s height, weight, body shape and seat position, as well as the direction and speed of the vehicle. The system can communicate all this information to the seat belt “in the blink of an eye” so that passenger protection can be optimized.
For example, if the passenger is on the larger side, they will get a higher belt load setting to reduce the risk of head injuries that occur with severe collapse. For lighter crashes, people with smaller frames will get a lower belt load setting to prevent rib injuries. Volvo did not specify whether the system also considered the seat belt position for women, as it did not always fit women’s breasts. However, the automaker explained that the system will expand the number of limiting load profiles to 11. The load limiter controls the force exerted on the body by the seat belt during a crash. Typically, the seat belt has only three limiting load profiles, but Volvo has expanded it to 11, which means the system can better optimize the protection passengers get.
Volvo used information from fifty years of safety research, as well as a database of more than 80,000 people involved in real-life accidents to design new seat belts. The system was also created to incorporate improvements launched through Air Software Updates, which the company hopes to release when it gains more data and insights.
“The world’s first automatic seat belt is another milestone in car safety and a great example of how we can use our ambition to use real-time data to help save millions of lives in life,” said Åsa Haglund, head of the Volvo Car Safety Center. “This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point seat belt, which was launched in 1959 and has estimated to save more than one million lives.”
Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin designed the modern three-point seat belt and patented other automakers. The company hasn’t said whether this will be as generous as a multi-auto seat belt, but the new system will debut in the all-electric Volvo EX60 Midsize SUV sometime next year.
