A vehicle with an occupant protection function includes an occupant protection device and an occupant monitoring device. The occupant protection device is provided in the vehicle and configured to perform protection operation of supporting, with a seatbelt, an occupant in the vehicle upon collision of the vehicle. The occupant monitoring device is provided in the vehicle and configured to monitor the occupant in the vehicle. The occupant monitoring device is configured to determine whether the occupant in the vehicle is aware of the collision of the vehicle. The occupant protection device is configured to, in a case where the occupant monitoring device determines that the occupant is unaware of the collision of the vehicle, increase tension of the seatbelt gradually as compared with a case where the occupant monitoring device determines that the occupant is aware of the collision.

Provided are a method and an apparatus for controlling the deployment of an airbag. The method includes steps of: determining whether a complex collision has occurred, based on collision-related physical quantities due to a vehicle collision; and adjusting a threshold value as a criterion for determining whether to deploy an airbag when the complex collision has occurred as a result of the determination.

A closure latch system and method for capturing, releasing, and recapturing a striker of a hood of a motor vehicle are provided. The closure latch system includes at least one power actuator configured for communication with at least one sensor. The at least one power actuator is actuatable in response to a signal from the at least one sensor indicating an imminent impact with a pedestrian to pivot the hood to a partially open position, and thereafter, to pivot the hood to a closed position in response to an indication of there being no impact from the at least one sensor.

A vehicle safety seat system comprises: i) a vehicle seat configured to move to a substantially reclining position, the vehicle seat comprising a seat back and a seat bottom; and ii) a first support arm associated with the seat back, the first support arm including a first airbag on a lower surface of the first support arm, the first support arm holding the first airbag in a position above the thorax of a passenger reclining in the vehicle seat. The first airbag inflates in the event of a collision and provides protection between the first support arm and the thorax of the passenger.

An occupant protection system for a vehicle may include an expandable curtain and/or an expandable bladder configured to be expanded from a stowed state to a deployed state. In the deployed state, the expandable curtain may include first and second sides configured to extend along respective portions of first and second interior sides of the vehicle. The expandable curtain may also include a transverse portion extending between the first and second sides, and the first and second sides, and the transverse portion of the expandable curtain may form a contiguous barrier. The expandable bladder when deployed may be supported by the expandable curtain during contact by an occupant. The occupant protection system may also include a deployment control system configured to cause the expandable curtain and/or the expandable bladder to expand to the deployed state. The occupant protection system may be used in vehicles having a carriage-style seating arrangement.

A damage quantifier for a vehicle component formed of composite material is determined based on vehicle sensor data. The vehicle is operated based on a mission determined according to determined damage quantifier.

Methods and systems for assessing, detecting, and responding to malfunctions involving components of autonomous vehicle and/or smart homes are described herein. Autonomous operation features and related components can be assessed using direct or indirect data regarding operation. Such assessment may be performed to determine the condition of components for salvage following a collision or other loss-event. To this end, the information regarding a plurality of components may be received. A component of the plurality of components may be identified for assessment. Assessment may including causing test signals to be sent to the identified component. In response to the test signal, one or more responses may be received. The received response may be compared to an expected response to determine whether the identified component is salvageable.

An apparatus for operating an airbag of an autonomous vehicle may include: an interior image sensor configured to capture an interior image of a vehicle; an input unit configured to receive collision prediction information from an autonomous driving system and the interior image from the interior image sensor; an airbag module installed at the front and side of the interior of the vehicle, and configured to deploy an airbag; and an airbag control unit configured to estimate the sitting position and dynamic behavior of the passenger from the interior image inputted from the input unit, estimate a collision status from the collision prediction information, determine an airbag to be deployed and a time to deploy the airbag according to the sitting position, and then output a deployment signal to the airbag module.

There is provided an occupant protection device for a vehicle, the occupant protection device including a side collision prediction device configured to predict a collision with a side of a host vehicle and output a prediction result including determination about whether or not the predicted collision is an inevitable collision, a physical quantity detection device configured to detect a physical quantity related to the collision with the side of the host vehicle and output a detection value of the physical quantity, an airbag device configured to expand to protect an occupant of the vehicle when the airbag device is operated, and an electronic control unit.

A plurality of airbags 14 are arranged, in a deflated state, at mutually different heights behind respective panels of a front face part of a vehicle, and are capable of being deployed frontward from the front face part of the vehicle. A head position deduction unit 19 of an ECU 15 deduces the height position of the head of a pedestrian from information provided by a vehicle forward camera 12 and a millimeter-wave radar 13. A collision detection unit 18 of the ECU 15 computes, from information provided by the millimeter-wave radar 13 and a vehicle speed sensor 11, a time-to-collision TTC with respect to the pedestrian, and, after elapse of the time-to-collision TTC, detects a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian. When a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian is detected by the collision detection unit 18, an airbag control unit 20 of the ECU 15 deploys, from among the plurality of airbags 14, an airbag 14 that can be deployed at the pedestrian's head height position deduced by the head position deduction unit 19.