A POPULAR automaker has revealed an innovative seat belt design that adapts to its passengers.
The new system uses artificial intelligence to adjust to different body types in the event of a collision.
The belt system is designed to work more than once unless it’s a serious crash[/caption]
Sensors would be placed on the inside and outside of the car[/caption]
Volvo is designing seat belts that adjust to each person in the car[/caption]
Automakers have long been looking into advanced driver-assistance and safety systems (ADAS) to protect drivers and passengers.
One automaker has created a seat belt design that understands how to protect drivers and adapts to each individual within a vehicle.
Swedish automaker Volvo is spearheading a multi-adaptive safety belt that uses sensors around the car to recognize a change in environment and quickly adapt the belt’s response.
Sensors for the new feature would be placed on both the inside and outside of the car.
This way, the seat belt can adjust its response to each vehicle occupant and each type of collision, US News reported.
“Everyone has different shapes, different sizes and different protective needs,” said Lotta Jakobsson, a leader on Volvo’s injury prevention team.
“And then you add to that that you can crash in so many different ways and anything can really happen in the field.”
The car company has been testing out the new system, installing it in the brand new Volvo EX60, which will launch in 2026.
The Volvo EX60, an all-electric mid-size SUV, is expected to offer a blend of luxury, technology, and sustainability.
Some of the car’s key features include a redesigned interior with a new infotainment system, advanced driver assistance systems, and a structural battery pack for increased efficiency.
The EX60 is poised to be a strong contender in the electric SUV market, competing with models like the Tesla Model Y.
“So thanks to this real-time data and AI with the help of AI and algorithms, we can build a profound understanding of the situation and let the safety belts perform in an optimal way for that precise situation,” Asa Haglund, the head of the Volvo Safety Center in Sweden, said in a press release.
“So this new safety belt is a fantastic example of how we work with data-driven safety.”
“We see the potential of saving a million more lives,” she continued.
Key Takeaways: Volvo’s New Smart Seat Belts
- Changes in Real Time: Seat belts adjust to your size, how you’re sitting, and the type of crash.
- Learns and Improves: The system gets updates and improves over time based on crash data from real cars.
- Sensors Inside and Out: The car uses sensors to understand what’s happening before and during a crash.
- Different for Everyone: Bigger people get more belt force, smaller people get less, to help avoid injuries.
- Can Be Reused: The belt system is designed to work more than once unless it’s a serious crash.
- Works with Airbags: It teams up with other safety features for better protection.
- Coming in 2026: First available in Volvo’s new electric EX60 SUV.
- Built on Safety History: Follows Volvo’s long tradition of safety, including inventing the modern seat belt.
With the new intelligence system, the Volvo seatbelts will gather information in real time to best adapt to the scenario at hand.
Using the technology, the seatbelts will use data about the speed and direction of the crash and the current posture of the vehicle’s occupants to better protect the vehicle’s occupants.
“This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives,” Haglund said.
Volvo has long been a pioneer in car safety, as its engineers invented the modern three-point seat belt in 1959.
The company famously licensed the design for free and has estimated it saved over a million lives since then.
Every seat belt in a Volvo still bears a “Since 1959” stamp to mark that legacy.
In 2007, Volvo set a goal that no one should be killed or seriously hurt in one of its vehicles.
The EX60, which will be the first model to feature these AI-powered belts, will sit between the smaller EX30 and the larger EX90 in the brand’s electric lineup.
Exact pricing and delivery dates haven’t been announced yet, but it’s expected to compete with Tesla’s Model Y.
