Hyundai Mobis Co., the auto parts unit of South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, has successfully developed a panoramic sunroof airbag for vehicles that is expected to greatly reduce the risk of passengers’ ejection through the sunroof during rollover accidents.

The company said on Wednesday that it has completed a series of tests using an actual vehicle to check the system’s resistance to heat and vibration, and it is near to mass produce the airbag system for panoramic sunroofs. When commercialized, Hyundai Mobis would be the first industry player to apply panoramic sunroof airbags to vehicles, the company claimed.

According to the company, a panoramic sunroof generally consists of a glass sheet and a covering screen, and its sunroof airbag will be installed between the glass and screen. When a vehicle senses a change in turning angle following a rollover accident, the airbag will deploy and cover the entire roof in 0.08 seconds to protect passengers, the company explained.

Hyundai Mobis said that based on its crash-test using a passenger dummy, the airbag successfully prevented the passenger from being ejected and absorbed shock on head.

According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its study of vehicle rollover accidents in North America from 2000 to 2015, about 260 passengers were ejected through the vehicle sunroof, calling for more demand for a panoramic sunroof airbag system.

The latest development has led Hyundai Mobis, which began the mass production of air bags in 2002, to move ahead of its rivals in airbag technology. The sunroof airbag has a more complex structure compared to normal airbags because it must make sure of stable airbag deployment regardless of whether a sunroof is open or closed, requiring more advanced technology.

Hyundai Mobis has applied for 11 patents on its panoramic sunroof airbag technology, gaining the upper hand against its peers.

By Woo Je-yoon and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]