Development of New Weight-Based Occupant Classification System Utilizing DFSS Methodology

As occupant injuries induced by airbag deployment became a critical issue, revisions to FMVSS 208 were made to mandate the adoption of advanced airbag which can protect occupants of varying statures. As a result, OCS (Occupant Classification System) has become an important part of advanced airbag technologies. In this paper, we review existing OCS technologies briefly and list details of development issues and solutions for weight-based OCS. As an effort to reduce cost and optimize performance for the semi-LRD (Low Risk Deployment) airbag system, a study on reducing the number of sensors from 4 to 2 for the current system utilizing DFSS methodology is provided and discussed.