Technical Paper
Tradeoffs Encountered in Evaluating Crash Sensing Systems
1993-03-01
930648
Most airbag systems currently in use rely on crash detection systems containing sensors based on electromechanical technologies to trigger deployment. The majority of these systems contain multiple sensors located in different parts of the vehicle which are capable of identifying significant crashes in a timely manner. Systems based on other technologies such as all-mechanical or electronic sensors have also been employed in a small number of upscale vehicle platforms. Industry emphasis on cost reduction and quality improvement has resulted in a strong interest in alternate sensor technologies. Thus sensors based on new candidate technologies are now under evaluation for use in the near future. A meaningful evaluation of these systems must account for possible tradeoffs including cost, reliability and overall performance. Breed Technologies, Inc. has outlined a comparative evaluation of such systems based on these criteria.