Airbag Performance

Airbag System Failure

At ASC Forensics, our team brings decades of hands-on experience in automotive crash sensing and airbag development. Our team has been directly involved in the design, development, and testing of airbag crash-sensing systems, cultivating an unparalleled understanding of how these safety-critical systems function in laboratory vs. real-world collisions.

 With backgrounds in automotive engineering, airbag system design, crash data analysis, and product development, our team has worked on the cutting edge of SRS technology, from calibrating airbag sensors to designing and implementing crash detection algorithms.

This specialized experience allows us to deliver results that are not only technically accurate but also grounded in a profound understanding of the intricate factors that influence SRS airbag performance. When you work with ASC Forensics, you’re partnering with a team that has dedicated their careers to advancing automotive safety and collision analysis.

Our team’s experience includes:

  • Airbag Development and Testing: Multiple decades were spent designing, developing, and testing airbag systems for performance and reliability under various government crash tests and real-world crash scenarios.
  • Crash Sensing System Design: Expertise in creating and refining sensor mounting, wire harness routing, and crash detection systems and algorithms.
  • Algorithm Analysis: Direct involvement in developing and validating software algorithms for crash sensing and airbag deployment thresholds.
  • Real-World Collision Analysis: Investigating system malfunctions, non-deployments, and delayed deployments to uncover root causes and provide actionable suggestions to prevent future failures.
  • Trial and Deposition Experience: An extensive amount of deposition and trial experience where our team was able to articulate the criticisms or complements of an airbag system's crash-specific performance in a way that was easy for the jury to understand. 

Common Cases

Failure To Deploy
 
 Evaluating overall vehicle and subsystem behavior to assess performance, safety, and reliability under real-world operating conditions. 
Inadvertent Deployment
 
 Analyzing cases of spontaneous or overaggressive airbag deployments that cause unnecessary harm to the occupants given the impact severity.
Preliminary Case Investigations
 
 Providing initial reviews of airbag system performance to identify potential issues, gather critical data, and determine the direction of further case-specific analysis.
Airbag System Electrical Failure
 
  Examining failures in Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) electrical components, including wire harness damage, connector issues, and control module malfunctions, to assess their impact on system performance.
Airbag System Calibrations
 
  Evaluating calibration and design specifications for airbag deployment thresholds and timing while comparing them to the system's performance in real-world crash conditions. 
Crash Sensor Location Strategy and Analysis
 
Assessing the placement, orientation, and mounting structure of crash sensors to determine their effectiveness in adequately detecting impact forces and triggering a timely airbag deployment. 
Airbag System Design Philosophy and Robustness
 
 Analyzing the overarching algorithm philosophy for a specific airbag system to determine its robustness to perform adequately under a range of crash scenarios and environmental conditions. 
Jury Explanation of Airbag System Operation
 
Simplifying complex airbag system designs and operations into clear, jury-friendly explanations that illustrate how components and algorithms function in real-world crashes. 
Algorithm-Specific Design Evaluation
 
 Examining the design and performance of airbag deployment algorithms to evaluate their sensitivity, calibration, and decision-making processes during crash events. 
Frontal, Side, Rear, Rollover Algorithm Analysis
 
  Evaluating crash sensing algorithms for various collision types, assessing their ability to detect and respond appropriately to frontal, side, rear, and rollover impacts under real-world conditions. 
CDR Analysis and Interpretation
 
 Decoding and interpreting Crash Data Recording (CDR) information to evaluate pre-crash vehicle dynamics, occupant safety system performance, and crash severity.
System Performance Under Low-Severity Collisions
 
  Investigating airbag and crash-sensing system behavior during low-severity collisions to determine if deployment and safing thresholds were appropriately calibrated.

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