Scenarios for Future Mobility Put New Demands on Cabin Safety

Seat applications for the Smart Cabin are very different from those in a traditional cabin and can include large-angle reclined forward seating positions such as zero gravity or fully reclined positions, as well as other irregular seat movements such as rotation, long distance sliding and others.

As current restraint systems are developed based on an upright seating position, injury statistics from traffic accidents show that traditional safety restraint systems do not provide effective protection for drivers and occupants who are not in an upright or similar seating position. Since 2020, Yanfeng has been working to identify safety solutions to meet future mobility needs to find an answer to this increasingly important industry challenge.

After three years of development, Yanfeng has made significant progress in collision protection in a large-angle reclined forward seating position, and has obtained more than 60 patents.

Safer Travel Experience

This new safety solution brings together the seat Pre-Crash Seat Rapid Return mechanism, Follow Up Seat, Hoodie Airbag, Buttock Airbag, and Seat Integrated Seat Belt - All Belt to Seat, to provide all-round protection for occupants in all forward seating positions from standard to large angle recline.

• Pre-crash Seat Rapid Return

When the vehicle advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) or self-driving system (SDS) determine that the vehicle will collide with another vehicle or object, this function will adjust the seat rapidly from a large angle position to a position that better protects the passenger.

• Follow Up Seat (FUS)

When ADAS or SDS fails to accurately predict an unavoidable collision or when the vehicle does not have the pre-crash function, the follow up seat is triggered to allow the seat to return to the appropriate backrest angle from a wide-angle seating or reclining position after a collision, improving restraint protection for the occupants by optimizing the seating position.

• All Belt to Seat (ABTS)

The ABTS is a seat belt integrated into the seat. With car-sensitive rewinders fixed to the seatback, it implements seat belt locking under different seat-back angles to provide better protection for the occupants.

• Buttock Airbag (BAB)

The buttock airbag is activated in the front of the seat to effectively reduce the occupant's inertial rush forward in the early stage of any collision, to offset the lumbar spine force, reduce the effects of the collision energy on the passenger’s upper body and reduce the occupant lumbar spine pressure reducing injury.

• Hoodie Airbag (HAB)

With a unique design and a brand-new shape, this all-in airbag is fully integrated into the seat and deploys to protect the occupant's head, neck, and chest in different collision scenarios.

"Safety solutions for Smart Cabins are challenges that must be solved for the development of future mobility," said Ni Jiawen, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of the Yanfeng Tech Center. “As an industry leader, Yanfeng continuously creates new cabin use scenarios, while simultaneously working to develop safety solutions. We believe that an intelligent, comfortable, and personalized cabin environment must be built on the basis of safety. The company has been exploring this field for many years, attempting to reduce the serious injuries caused by road accidents with new product technologies. This recent achievement is also due to our cross-business unit advantage, which allows us to integrate seating and safety technologies that provide users with safety solutions that better meet the needs of future mobility."

Validated through meticulous testing, the technologies are applicable for both current (L0-L3) and future autonomous driving (L3-L5) scenarios and are ready for commercialization. As the seat angle and position, as well as the posture of occupants in the cabin become more diverse, Yanfeng will continue to explore and develop additional safety solutions that improve passenger safety.