Toyota Develops World's First Rear-seat Center Airbag

Toyota deployed SRS rear-seat center airbag

New airbag deploys in-between rear seats to protect passenges from side impacts

By Alex Ricciuti
March 11, 2009 5:51 PM
Filed Under: Japanese, Production, Technology, Toyota

Toyota has developed the first ever center airbag for the back seats that helps protect rear passengers from side impacts in the event of a crash.

The Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) features a rear center console with an airbag that deploys between the rear passenger seats. The picture is a little deceiving as this demonstration rig shows a weird upper console which we guess represents a section of the roof. Perhaps Toyota built this into the demonstration rig as a point of reference to show the deployment area, but it gives the impression that the airbag is deploying from the roof. A closer look at the photo indeed shows the airbag deploying from the upper center backrest area just above the dummy's right shoulder.

Toyota doesn't mention which model(s) will receive the new airbag. The press release simply states that the SRS will debut in "a Toyota model to be launched in Japan in the near future." But one should guess that more airbags are always good and that a center airbag can be effective so that when you're driving your parents-in-law home after Christmas dinner on a wet, slippery night they don't cluck their heads together when you end up crashing the car because of their incessant bickering.

Enjoy the unusual pic, yes. Crash test dummies are very creepy, no? Good idea for a horror movie.

Source: Toyota

Press Release (Click to expand)

Tokyo - TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announces it has developed a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) rear-seat center airbag-the first*1 in the world-to help reduce the severity of secondary injuries incurred by rear-seat passengers in a side-on collision.

The new airbag is fitted in a large, fixed, rear-seat center console that comes in a version of a Toyota model to be launched in Japan in the near future. When the vehicle is hit side-on, the airbag deploys from the top of the console to act as a barrier that helps lessen injuries caused by passengers colliding with each other or into the console.

TMC has continued to actively develop and make available its collision safety technologies-including its early commercialization of SRS curtain shield and knee airbags-to enable its vehicles to better respond to a wider range of accidents.

TMC, as a part of its efforts to realize sustainable mobility, intends to strengthen its traffic safety initiatives in the future through: 1) the development of even safer vehicles and technologies based on TMC's Integrated Safety Management Concept*2, 2) participation in the creation of a safe traffic environment, and 3) activities designed to teach people about traffic safety, thereby contributing to the complete elimination of traffic casualties, which can be viewed as the ultimate hope of a society that values mobility.

*1 According to TMC research, as of February 28, 2009
*2 TMC's safety technology and vehicle development concept, which, by combining safety technologies and systems to provide optimal driving support, aims to successfully develop vehicles that do not cause accidents

email print digg facebook fark reddit delicious myspace

Tags: airbags, safety

Third Generation Toyota Verso in Detail & on Video (1 comments
Final Toyota iQ Specs & Pricing Released (10 comments
Toyota Auris Achieves Top Crash Ratings
Mercedes Airbag and Belt Tensioner Revisited

Comments

Kepe

March 11, 2009 7:10 PM

And what happens when there's a passenger sitting in the rear middle seat? Will he get launched through the windscreen in case of an accident?

wjaprep

March 11, 2009 10:40 PM

Bwhahahaha

tom43

March 11, 2009 7:16 PM

Hey Toyota, there should be a trend to make cars lighter. Don´t fill them with things we don´t need...

tobz102

March 11, 2009 11:29 PM

the tricks in the name 'airbag' they aren't really that heavy now are they? Any piece of technology to improve a production car's safety is always a good thing.

TheKing

March 12, 2009 5:55 PM

Actually, I think that it is a great idea. I know someone, who was in a car accident sitting in the rear, got displaced to the other side of the car in a lateral accident. She was serious injured (she wasn't wearing a seatbelt). The front passenger's head knocked onto the driver's head and cracked his skill.

Kepe

March 11, 2009 7:39 PM

My opinion is that cars should be made very unsafe, so that people would actually concentrate on driving instead of doing other stuff. Cars would be a lot lighter, too.

Joe_Limon

March 11, 2009 7:58 PM

lighter cars can swerve better to avoid getting hit in the first place.

stickzilla

March 11, 2009 8:33 PM

but heavier cars are better at dealing with crashes

zdenda20

March 11, 2009 8:55 PM

I guess there is a sensor (weight) so that if a 3rd passenger is there, it doesnt make him go Weeeeee!! Give it 3 months, and ull find some redneck who will figure out how to disable it and will launch squirrels off of it:D

wjaprep

March 11, 2009 10:41 PM

All... Over... Youtube it would be.

kryst_PL

March 11, 2009 9:35 PM

I wonder when will we see a "Worlds First Trunk Airbag"... for those carried by mafia.

benz_man

March 11, 2009 10:28 PM

More than likely, this will be in a very small car. There may not be a center seating position in the rear, and if one is present, a weight sensor will deactivate it when occupied. Any safety related sensor will be hard-wired to the airbag module and be difficult to "adjust". (you know how lawsuits have gotten now) Furthermore, vehicle weight and size (now) play less of a role in crash science than clever energy distribution engineering. Just look at the Smart car vs a 60s Cadillac as example. If given a choice between crashing in either, I'd pick the Smart car and walk away with my life.

Decypha

March 11, 2009 10:43 PM

I guess you missed that 5th Gear episode; from that I gather that I would rather be in an Opel Corsa than a Smart during a crash.

benz_man

March 12, 2009 6:36 PM

And I guess you missed the point of my post. It wasn't about the Smart car. That was just an example. You'd rather be in the Cadillac?

Meeshka

March 11, 2009 11:46 PM

I would love to sit in that middle seat during a car accident with my seatbelt on.

You will fly out the windshield attached to the airbag.

awhk

March 12, 2009 8:55 AM