ZF has been named the winner of the 2019 Altair Enlighten award in the module category for its newly launched fabric housing knee airbag module. The innovation enhances the safety of passenger vehicle occupants and is the lightest such airbag module in the automotive industry.
The Altair Enlighten Award honors the greatest achievements in vehicle weight savings each year. It inspires interest from industry, engineering, policymakers, educators, students and the public, creates further competition for new ideas in the industry, and provides an incentive to share technological advances while highlighting advances in lightweight design techniques, materials technology and manufacturing processes.
“Being recognized for this award is a testament to the dedication and teamwork of ZF engineers that spent considerable time and effort in the development of the world’s first fabric housing knee airbag,” said Werner Freisler, who leads the Knee Airbag Core Engineering efforts for ZF Passive Safety Systems Engineering. “The reduced weight can lead to greater efficiency in fuel economy and reduced emissions, while the smaller and flexible packaging will help meet new interior design and safety demands for the electric and autonomous vehicle interiors of the future.”
The new airbag module enables vehicle manufacturers to help optimize interior redesign requirements and increase design freedom while in some cases further reducing weight and costs.
ZF’s fabric housing knee airbag module will be produced by using a new manufacturing process that allows for more precise module package configurations that help to enhance the airbag’s quality and performance. The fabric housing design will be configurable for all markets and light vehicle ranges.
SOURCE: ZF
