The BMW SBE2 Child Seat Detection System

Abstract

Besides a measure of crash-severity the smart airbag system of the future needs information about the actual seat-occupation. For the driver seat, two parameters art: to he evaluated: Approximate: weight of driver (occupant classification) Drivers distance to airbag (out of position sensor) For the passenger seat, two additional aspects are relevant: Is the seat occupied at all? (seat occupation detection) Is it occupied by a child seat? (child seat detection) Child slat detection is especially important in two-seat vehicles like the Z3 roadster. This challenge is addressed by the upcoming BMW SBE2 system. Unlike some competitors strategies to install manual airbag deactivation switches or to develop a system that recognises only certain child seats equipped with electronic resonators, the BMW SBE2 system generally discriminates between adults and child restraints. The sensor-principle is based on the measurement of two distinct physical properties, pressure profile and capacity. The employment of digital signal processing and pattern recognition algorithms enables a redundant, self-supervising and fully-automatic detection system.