Volvo unveils world-first adaptive seat belt that adjusts to every body in real time

Why it matters: Automaker Volvo has long had a reputation for building vehicles with a focus on safety features. It is continuing that trend with the release of what it calls the multi-adaptive safety belt, which uses real-time data from interior and exterior sensors to alter a belt’s protection settings.

The new seat belts can take into account factors such as the wearer’s height, weight, body shape and seating position, along with the direction and speed of the vehicle. This information is sent to the seatbelt “in the blink of an eye” so its safety profile can be adapted to the individual, applying the optimal amount of force.

Volvo gave the example of a larger occupant receiving a higher belt load setting to reduce the risk of head injury in the event of a severe crash. If the crash is less severe, those with smaller frames will receive lower belt load settings to prevent rib injuries.

Seatbelts use load limiters to minimize belt-inflicted injury. These release a little more excess belt webbing when a great deal of force is applied to the belt. Volvo said that its new seat belts expand the load-limiting profiles from three to 11, thereby allowing better protection optimization for wearers.

Volvo, which invented the traditional three-point safety belt almost 70 years ago, developed the new design using information from five decades of safety research and from a database of over 80,000 people involved in real-life accidents.

The Swedish giant also explained that its system is able to improve over time as the company gathers more data and pushes out over-the-air software updates to vehicles that use the new seatbelts.

“The world first multi-adaptive safety belt is another milestone for automotive safety and a great example of how we leverage real-time data with the ambition to help save millions of more lives,” said Åsa Haglund, head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “This marks a major upgrade to the modern three-point safety belt, a Volvo invention introduced in 1959, estimated to have saved over a million lives.”

Unlike its original seatbelt design, expect Volvo to keep its multi-adaptive safety belt design to itself, though other manufacturers will probably come up with their own versions. The technology will debut in the the all-electric Volvo EX60 midsize SUV that is scheduled to launch next year.

Volvo has introduced a range of advanced safety features in recent years, including a 112 mph speed cap on all vehicles, driver alert systems, interior radar for detecting vulnerable occupants, and door-opening alerts that warn of approaching cyclists, pedestrians, or vehicles.