Our breakthroughs in digital crash test modeling have led to breakthroughs in safety innovation, such as seats that can lessen whiplash and dual-chamber airbags.
A headrest that never rests
Rear-end collisions account for over 30% of crashes, making whiplash one of the most common types of vehicle accident injuries. So Lexus asked, what if we could use a typically static part of the vehicle—the headrest—to play an active role in reducing the severity of whiplash injuries?
By using Lexus digital crash test modeling, we were able to gather significant data on how a passenger's vertebrae and soft tissues in the neck can be affected by rear-end collisions of varying intensity.
The resulting technology? The Whiplash Injury Lessening (WIL) seats. During certain types of rear-end collisions, the front seats move with the passenger's body, absorbing some of the impact energy. This decreases the distance between the head and headrest, reducing excessive head movement and lessening the severity of whiplash-type injuries.
Airbag depiction only, for purposes of general illustration. Does not represent actual vehicle or airbag performance.
What do you do when preventing one injury can cause another?
Traditional airbags deploy at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. The result is that they sometimes can cause minor injuries in the name of helping to reduce major ones. So Lexus asked, is there a way to help reduce both?
By using data collected from Lexus digital crash test modeling, we were able to better understand how the human body responds to the forces of an airbag, resulting in new safety technologies for airbags, including the dual-chamber airbag.
Where a traditional airbag would be flush, the dual-chamber airbag has a seam down the middle, creating space for a person's nose and other delicate facial features. The multiple surfaces help disperse the physical impact on the passenger. The full force of impact is felt, instead, on the passenger's shoulders and upper torso, thereby lessening the threat of airbag-related injuries.
The driver's side airbag also features an advanced deployment approach—sensors detect the severity of the impact and then control how fast the airbag inflates, based on how much support is needed for that specific collision.
Lexus digital crash test modeling has not only led to significant safety technology improvements in our vehicles, but has set a new benchmark for the industry as a whole. Twenty other automotive companies have licensed our simulation technology. The result is that the research we are using to help make Lexus drivers safer today could one day make all drivers safer.
Courtesy of Lexus
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