On Thursday, Honda revealed that it had developed an airbag that would put other airbags to shame.
The Tokyo automaker said that it is introducing the world’s first airbag that inflates in stages, which mitigates the force of deployment. The new airbag is said to be safer than other airbags and will stop the sudden jolting that can lead to injuries from standard airbags. With the new airbag, Honda is hoping to increase the safety rating of their vehicles significantly.
The new air bag will be introduced in the Life minicar, which goes on sale in Japan in November. Plans for exporting the airbag overseas are tenuous at the moment, as regulations may have different enforcement issues in terms of how and where the airbag can be included.
The new airbag is also quicker. It inflates to a safe size in 0.015 seconds, whereas most current air bags take 0.030 seconds according to Honda.
Along with the airbag system, Honda is unveiling a camera system that will improve the ability of the driver to see the blind-spots. A car navigation monitor will reveal what the camera picks up. The system, which uses cameras in the front, sides and rear of a vehicle, will be offered in the Odyssey minivan. The minivan is set to go on sale next month in Japan. Overseas plans are once again undecided.
For more information about the new airbag or the new car navigation camera system, drop on by your local Honda dealer.