Out of Position Driver Monitoring from Seat Pressure in Dynamic Maneuvers

An airbag system is designed to reduce the accident outcome on the car occupants. The airbags deployment against manikins is severely tested according to international regulations. The accident scenarios with Out of Position (OP) occupants are critical since they can be hardly expected during design. The airbag deployment in these scenarios can be improved by developing adaptive strategies, provided that the Airbag Control Unit must be aware of the actual occupant position. The present research investigates a sensor system to monitor the occupants in an interactive Human-Car system. The driver position is monitored by pressure sensors, while an accelerometer enables to compensate for acceleration and noise. Real driving experiments in dynamic conditions are reported. The results prove that three OP conditions are effectively identified.