A vehicle safety system implements a method for helping to protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a frontal collision. The method includes determining a passive safety crash mode classification in response to crash signals received in response to the occurrence of a crash event. The method also includes determining an active safety crash mode classification in response to active safety signals received prior to the occurrence of the crash event. The method also includes determining an active safety confidence factor for the active safety crash mode classification. The method also includes determining the weighted crash mode classification as being the active crash mode classification in response to the active safety confidence factor exceeding a predetermined confidence value. The method further includes determining the weighted crash mode classification as being the passive crash mode classification in response to the active safety confidence factor not exceeding the predetermined confidence value.

A vehicle and a method of controlling the vehicle may include a seat belt apparatus to reduce the tension of the seat belt in the normal situation in which the collision does not occur by appropriately adjusting the tension of the seat belt based on the driving state of the vehicle, providing convenience to a passenger. In the collision situation, the safety of the passenger may be ensured by sufficiently increasing the tension of the seat belt. The vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a seat belt provided to adjust a tension; a driving assistance device configured to obtain vehicle driving information for assisting a driving of the vehicle; and a controller coupled to the driving assistance and configured to adjust the tension of the seat belt to correspond to a driving state of the vehicle based on the vehicle driving information obtained through the driving assistance device.

A method for activating a passenger protection device of a vehicle. A relative velocity value, which represents a relative velocity between the vehicle and an object, and at least one correction value are read in. In a further step, a velocity reduction value, which represents a decrease of a velocity of the vehicle when the vehicle collides with the object, is ascertained using the relative velocity value and the correction value. Finally, an activation signal for activating the passenger protection device is generated using the velocity reduction value.

A vehicle rollover sensing system using driving information for optimization includes a longitudinal-velocity estimator determining a longitudinal velocity of a vehicle using a wheel speed, a steering angle, and GPS vehicle velocity information; a lateral-velocity estimator determining a lateral velocity of the vehicle using the longitudinal velocity, a yaw rate, a steering angle, a lateral acceleration, and GPS vehicle heading direction information; a rollover type determinater deciding a rollover type of the vehicle using the longitudinal velocity and the lateral velocity of the vehicle; and a restraint device deployment determinater determining whether or not to deploy a vehicle restraint device according to the decision by the rollover type determinater.

A method and vehicle control system for controlling stiffness of at least one support structure of a vehicle includes at least one of an acceleration sensor, a braking sensor and a corner sensor for providing a driving condition of the vehicle. A controller obtains information from the sensors to determine the driving condition and control the stiffness of a support structure of the vehicle. A magnetic field generator provides a magnetic field to control the stiffness of the support structure having a magnetorheological fluid or elastomer. An electrical source provides electrical current to a support structure including an electrorheological fluid or a support structure including a meta-material. When a vehicle collision is predicted no energy is provided to the support structure to minimize the stiffness and maximize energy absorbance by the support structure in a collision.

An occupant restraint system for a vehicle includes: a seat belt device configured w restrain an occupant seated on a vehicular seat with a webbing, in which one end of the webbing is wound around a winding device and the other end is fixed to one of the vehicular seat and a vehicle body, and the seat belt device is configured so that a motor provided in the winding device is driven to wind the webbing; and an electronic control unit configured to drive the motor so that a prescribed amount of the webbing is wound, when a first condition is satisfied.

A control device for a vehicle seat belt, includes: a retraction unit that is configured to retract a seat belt through use of a driving force of a motor and to stop retracting the seat belt when the motor is stopped from being driven; an acceleration measurement unit that is configured to measure an acceleration of a vehicle; a state detection unit that is configured to detect whether or not the vehicle is in a stable state while running; and a control unit that is configured to stop driving the motor when the acceleration measured by the acceleration measurement unit during driving of the motor has remained lower than a first set acceleration for at least a first set time and the vehicle has remained in the stable state detected by the state detection unit for at least a second set time.

A vehicle diagnostic and communication system includes a controller with computer executable instructions configured to diagnose operational capability of vehicle operating systems in response to a recognized collision event. The controller is further configured to determine a severity of damage to the vehicle operating systems based on the diagnoses and generate a communication signal based on the determined severity of damage to the vehicle for transmission. The system determines which of a plurality of service providers to send the communication signal based on the severity of damage to the vehicle.

A vehicle safety system implements a method for helping to protect a vehicle occupant in the event of a frontal collision. The method includes determining a passive safety crash mode classification in response to crash signals received in response to the occurrence of a crash event. The method also includes determining an active safety crash mode classification in response to active safety signals received prior to the occurrence of the crash event. The method also includes determining an active safety confidence factor for the active safety crash mode classification. The method also includes determining the weighted crash mode classification as being the active crash mode classification in response to the active safety confidence factor exceeding a predetermined confidence value. The method further includes determining the weighted crash mode classification as being the passive crash mode classification in response to the active safety confidence factor not exceeding the predetermined confidence value.

A vehicle and a method of controlling an airbag of a vehicle enhances the efficiency in airbag deployment by predicting the possibility of collision of the vehicle in advance from a driving manipulation pattern of a driver and actively and variably adjusts a threshold value for deploying an airbag on the basis of a result of the prediction of the possibility of collision. The method of controlling an airbag of a vehicle includes determining a possibility of collision of the vehicle from a driving manipulation pattern of the vehicle, and variably adjusting a threshold value for deployment of the airbag on the basis of a result of the determination of the possibility of collision.