Submitted on October 3rd, 2007 by InterestedReader
Less structural weight for vehicles is desirable for better performance. Yet, at the same time, occupants as well as the vehicle itself needs greater protection in accidents. My suggestion is the development of external air bags that could be set off electronically from Dopplar radar controls.
Enclosed in the front and back bumpers and perhaps within the doors of the vehicle, the air bags could be individually controlled and automatically deployed fractions of a second before the Dopplar signals indicated an unavoidable collision. The bags could be made of strong material (the type NASA used for the Mars landing was Kevlar) and would serve to increase the time interval for the applied force during impact, thereby reducing the force of the impulse since impulse equals Force x time.
In any given impulse, increasing the time proportionally reduces the force. This reduction of force would be the essential purpose of the external air bag. By reducing the forces involved, less damage would be done to the vehicle and to its occupants. Reduction in insurance rates should help pay for the cost of these protective devices.
External air bags would give occupants in the vehicle much greater chances of survival, especially with high speed collisions. Internal air bags cannot protect humans from serious harm if the vehicle itself suffers from structural damage when considerable forces are applied as at high speeds so as to bend, split or even collapse the vehicle. The external air bags would serve to maintain the integrity of the vehicular structure and permit the internal air bags to do a better job of protecting should deployment be necessary.
I think that the Doppler control unit would not be difficult for an electrical engineer to design. It would be similar to a police radar speed detection device but linked to a trigger mechanism that would set off the external air bag. This is in comparison to the pressure type trigger mechanism presently used for the deployment of internal air bags.
The utilization of external air bags may some day be mandated by law but, until then, we have to hope that they will soon be developed for the reduction of damage to vehicles and the protection of human life.
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External Air Bags
Submitted on October 3rd, 2007 by InterestedReaderLess structural weight for vehicles is desirable for better performance. Yet, at the same time, occupants as well as the vehicle itself needs greater protection in accidents. My suggestion is the development of external air bags that could be set off electronically from Dopplar radar controls.
Enclosed in the front and back bumpers and perhaps within the doors of the vehicle, the air bags could be individually controlled and automatically deployed fractions of a second before the Dopplar signals indicated an unavoidable collision. The bags could be made of strong material (the type NASA used for the Mars landing was Kevlar) and would serve to increase the time interval for the applied force during impact, thereby reducing the force of the impulse since impulse equals Force x time.
In any given impulse, increasing the time proportionally reduces the force. This reduction of force would be the essential purpose of the external air bag. By reducing the forces involved, less damage would be done to the vehicle and to its occupants. Reduction in insurance rates should help pay for the cost of these protective devices.
External air bags would give occupants in the vehicle much greater chances of survival, especially with high speed collisions. Internal air bags cannot protect humans from serious harm if the vehicle itself suffers from structural damage when considerable forces are applied as at high speeds so as to bend, split or even collapse the vehicle. The external air bags would serve to maintain the integrity of the vehicular structure and permit the internal air bags to do a better job of protecting should deployment be necessary.
I think that the Doppler control unit would not be difficult for an electrical engineer to design. It would be similar to a police radar speed detection device but linked to a trigger mechanism that would set off the external air bag. This is in comparison to the pressure type trigger mechanism presently used for the deployment of internal air bags.
The utilization of external air bags may some day be mandated by law but, until then, we have to hope that they will soon be developed for the reduction of damage to vehicles and the protection of human life.
adrianakau@aol.com