By ROB HULL
If you've put on a few pounds recently, even your new car will soon know about it.
That's because Volvo has today revealed it has reinvented a 65-year-old vehicle safety feature - and it now includes body measuring technology designed to mitigate the risk of injury during crashes.
The Swedish car brand - majority owned by China's Geely and synonymous with safety - has today unveiled its new 'super seatbelt' aimed to improve protection levels in its latest models.
The new 'multi-adaptive safety belt' is an evolution of the three-point seatbelts that have been used in cars since 1959, which Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin originally created.
What differentiates the new super belt is the inclusion of sensors that analyse the height, weight, body shape and seating position of an individual.
This information - along with other sensors that measure the scale of the impact when there is a collision - in a split second calculates the optimum pressure and where load is spread across the body to provide the highest level of protection.
Volvo has today announced it has reinvented the seatbelt with a new 'multi-adaptive safety belt' that can measure an occupant's body
Volvo said the new seatbelt tech has the capacity to help 'save millions more lives' by providing bespoke protection for every occupant.
While conventional three-point seatbelt in cars currently provide only three 'load-limiting profiles', the new system has an endless number of adjustments that tailor to the crash scenario and person inside the vehicle.
In essence, a larger passenger will receive a more powerful belt load to keep their body restrained during a crash to reduce the risk of head trauma.
Whereas smaller, lighter individuals will have a lower belt load applied to avoid injuries that can be sustained from a conventional seat belt that often overpowers their frames, especially around their ribs.
The system adjusts each time you sit in the seat, so your car will know if you've put on a bit of weight of late.
For those of us actively avoiding the bathroom scales of late, don't worry, it won't be used for fat shaming - instead, the information is only utilised to better protect drivers and passengers.
The new system is packed with sensors that not only weight and measure the occupant but they also process 'in the blink of an eye' ferocity of the impact
The system adjusts each time you sit in the seat, so your car will know if you've put on a bit of weight of late
For those of us actively avoiding the bathroom scales of late, don't worry, it won't be used for fat shaming - instead, the information is only utilised to better protect drivers and passengers
The seatbelt, which has been co-developed with ZF Lifetech, also utilises sensors that gather data about the force and nature a collision.
This information is processed 'in less than a blink of an eye' to determine the precise amount of force the belt needs to apply for the person in each of the seats based on their unique body profiles, the intensity of the collision and where they are sitting in the car in relation to where the impact is felt.
The brand says: 'The system analyses the unique characteristics of a crash – such as direction, speed, and passenger posture – and shares that information with the safety belt.
'Based on this data, the system selects the most appropriate setting,' it explained.
Volvo in 1959 created the three-point seatbelt we all know and use in cars today. It was created by engineer Nils Bohlin (pictured)
The new multi-adaptive safety belt will be installed in the new electric EX60 on sale next year. Other models in Volvo's line-up (like the EX90 pictured) are likely to get the technology when they're updated and facelifted mid production cycle
And Volvo isn't just developing this technology as a concept - the multi-adaptive safety belt is due to be installed in its new electric EX60 SUV that goes on sale next year.
And the system will continue to be tweaked and improved.
The safety belt will receive software upgraded via over-the-air updates sent to the car's electronic brain, meaning it will carry on developing.
Volvo boffins say that as its database of crashes increases, the 'car can improve its understanding of the occupants, new scenarios and response strategies'.
Åsa Haglund, who runs Volvo Cars' Safety Centre, added: 'The world first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives.
'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.'
The new seatbelt's unveiling coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Safety Centre, which Volvo uses to 'recreate almost any traffic accident and perform tests that exceed regulatory requirements for real-world safety'
Located in Torslanda, Gothenburg, the centre has a movable (108 metres) test track with an enormous shifting arm (pictured here) that is used to adjust the point of impact from 0 to 90 degrees. This allows technicians can perform a variety of crashes from different angles
Volvo is a pioneer when it comes to vehicle safety. Most recently, it became the first manufacturer to use in-car cameras to monitor and alert drivers to drowsiness, and in 2020 became the first auto maker to install speed limiters (up to 112mph) in every vehicle it sells
Opened in 2000 in Torslanda, Gothenburg, the crash test laboratory has a capacity to carry out more than 400 full-scale tests per year
The new seatbelt's unveiling coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Safety Centre, which Volvo uses to 'recreate almost any traffic accident and perform tests that exceed regulatory requirements for real-world safety'.
Opened in 2020, the crash test laboratory has a capacity to conduct more than 400 full-scale tests per year.
Located in Torslanda, Gothenburg, it has one fixed (154 metre) and one movable (108 metres) test track.
The latter has an enormous shifting arm to that adjust the point of impact from 0 to 90 degrees so that technicians can perform a variety of crashes, such as frontal impacts, rear end collisions, side impacts, and collisions between two moving cars at different angles and speeds.
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