Key highlights
- Volvo introduces the world’s first adaptive seat belt
- Uses exterior and interior sensors to adapt for optimum safety
- Working based on varying load-limit profiles
Leader in passenger car safety, the Swedish carmaker Volvo has yet another world-first safety technology for us. The brand has introduced the world’s first adaptive seat belt system. Read how it works and what its benefits are below.
Also read: Indian government slashes EV import duty from 110% to 15%
Volvo adaptive seat belt: What is it and how does it work?
The newly developed adjusting seat belt system is the world’s first seat belt adjustment tech, and it will be launched with the upcoming Volvo EX60 in 2026.
The adaptive seat belt uses data from the various sensors of the car, before processing it and adjusting the seat belt in milliseconds before the impact. The seat belt analyses the individual’s height, weight, body shape, and seating posture in order to provide the best load setting to the seat belt.
The new adaptive seat belt system from Volvo works on the principle of expanding load limiters. Unlike the modern seat belts that use load-limiters, Volvo’s adaptive seat belt has expanding load-limiters, with three to eleven profiles, which expand/change as per the crash nature and the individual seated.
This seat belt system uses the data from various sensors inside and outside the car, which cumulatively help the system decide factors such as speed, direction, passenger posture, and more. This information is shared with the seat belt, which further adjusts the expanding load-limiters as per the individual.
Its working can be understood in a simple example: A large/big occupant will receive a higher load setting in case of a fast crash to avoid head injuries, while a small passenger will receive a lower load setting at a low-speed crash to save the ribs.
Our verdict
The new multi-adaptive seat belt system by Volvo is nothing short of amazing. It is a revolutionary safety upgrade, which shall be adopted by every other carmaker in the coming years to save more lives on the road. Further details and a close look of this new system is expected by late 2025, when the EX60 gets revealed.
