Occupant safety effectiveness of proactive safety seat in autonomous emergency braking

Abstract

The proactive safety seat (PSS) is a recently developed active safety system for securing occupant safety in out-of-seat position (OOSP), which was applied in the Hyundai Genesis G80 in 2020. However, there has not been sufficient quantifiable verification supporting the effectiveness of the PSS. The present study was performed to determine the effectiveness of the PSS for occupant safety in OOSP and to identify areas for additional improvement. Six test conditions were considered to determine the effectiveness of the PSS for augmentation of occupant safety in OOSP. Ten healthy men participated in the tests. Compared with the no PSS condition, maximum head excursion and neck rotation were significantly decreased in the PSS condition by 0.6–0.8-fold and 0.6–0.7-fold, respectively (P < 0.05). The PSS condition in which the seat pan was moved forward to the mid position showed a greater effect in reducing the characteristic motions related to submarining, compared with the condition in which the seat pan was moved rearward to the mid position (P < 0.05). These results suggested that PSS augments occupant safety in OOSP. This study provides valuable insights in ameliorating risks to the occupant in unintended seat positions before braking and/or collision.

The Effectiveness of Swiveling Seats in Protecting Reclined Occupants in Highly Autonomous Driving Environments during Frontal Crashes

“…Although these methods protect the reclined occupant in situ, high spinal force remains unresolved. Some car manufacturers protect reclined occupants by adjusting the seatback angle to maintain normal posture before a crash [19]. However, in this proactive safety seat, the rotation speed of the seatback was restricted to <10 • /s because of the maximum allowed voltage capacity of the battery, costing 3-5 s to upright the seatback.…”