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D-air air bags technology improves safety in transport sector

21 Sep '12

3 min read

At the IAA fair in Hannover, Iveco will present new solutions for protecting the passengers of light and heavy commercial vehicles. Special D-air air bags developed by Dainese for protecting the body have been fitted to the seats for each of these prototypes.

D-air technology comes from the world of motorcycle racing where it protects champions like Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Stefan Bradl and many others and is the result of over 10 years research & development work that has allowed air-bag technology to be applied to the human body around which D-air air-bags deploy when necessary.

Iveco is adopting D-air technology as the best suited solution to the safety requirements of heavy commercial vehicle drivers which differ from those of drivers of smaller sized vehicles. Statistics show that vehicle roll-overs are the main problem to be coped with in improving passive safety in commercial vehicles.

The aim therefore is to create a protective environment around the passengers with a safety shell that protects them from danger. It is exactly this feeling of safety that was the inspiration behind D-air air-bags that surround the seats and their passengers in a protective, almost maternal, embrace.

This new concept of a protective shell around Iveco vehicle passengers introduces a new model for passive protection and a new method for improving safety in the transport sector.

The concept applies to protecting the passengers of heavy vehicles (Stralis), the drivers of light vehicles and the young passengers of school buses.

D-air technology involves the use of special patented 3D high pressure bags for the maximum protection and comfort as well as "cold" gas generator technology. D-air bags are three-dimensional in design with controlled expansion characteristics that, along with high pressure inflation, allow them to assume shapes specially designed to wrap around and protect a driver's body.

This in turn provides maximum shock absorption while taking up very little space, i.e. the best possible trade-off between safety and ergonomics. D-air technology is already available on the motorcycle market in the Racing version for use on the track and in the Street version for normal road use.

To summarise, the benefits of a solution like this are:
• Performance - Faster deployment times (<45 milliseconds thanks to the use of “cold” gas technology), Increased protective volumes with less weight
• Ergonomics - The high performance characteristics and the materials used allow the air-bags to assume shapes that minimise bulk yet optimise ergonomics around the body.

Dainese