Roof-mounted airbags open design possibilities

As vehicle designers rethink how interiors are laid out and search for ways to make vehicles safer, a new airbag technology has gained a place, mounted in the vehicle's roof. ZF Group has been supplying "bag-in-roof" products since 2014. And Ford has reportedly filed U.S. patent applications for a new roof-mounted airbag design. But the thinking continues to evolve. The airbags deploy downward from the vehicle's ceiling between the occupant and the dashboard. That allows for greater design flexibility in the vehicle by potentially rendering dashboard airbags redundant and freeing up space in the dashboard for new types of displays or features. It also gives more flexibility to where passengers are seated.