SAFESEAT: the next generation, Smart Child Restraint Seat

Project Information

SAFESEAT

Grant agreement ID: 784190

DOI

10.3030/784190

Project closed

EC signature date 17 November 2017

Start date 1 December 2017

End date 31 October 2020

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 3 541 509,00

EU contribution

€ 2 479 056,31

Coordinated by

MOBIUS PROTECTION SYSTEMS LTD
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SAFESEAT (SAFESEAT: the next generation, Smart Child Restraint Seat)

Reporting period: 2019-12-01 to 2020-10-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

There are 1.3 million children involved in motor vehicle crashes (MVC) each year. MVCs are a leading cause of death and injury among children <1 year of age. In Europe, each year 700 children are killed on roads and 80,000 are injured, representing an unacceptably high burden on Europe’s society and economy. Despite many initiatives being taken, progress made in child restraint systems (CRS) in the last decade is small compared to the advancements made in adult occupant protection in that same period.

SAFESEAT is a new generation smart CRS based on breakthrough multiple-patented technology which sets a new level of safety to reduce child casualties and injuries in traffic collisions.

By overcoming the limitations observed in the CRS state of the art seats, Mobius increases safety by a factor of 4 compared to statutory requirements, by a factor of 2 compared to the safest products on the market, and is far superior in terms of usability.

The current project implements the results of a Phase 1 feasibility study. Based on the results obtained in the Phase 1 study, during which the product potential and the opportunities in the market have been validated, Mobius will finalize the development and certification of SAFESEAT for infants (age group 0/0+) and to launch industrial production at the end of the project. At the same time, the project will prepare the commercialization groundwork, by establishing a clear route to market through a partnership with a major brand and distribution company for child safety seats products, giving SAFESEAT access to 24 distribution partners in 48 countries worldwide.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Mobius is designing a family of seats that is aimed for children of 0-15 months (group 0 seats) and 0-4 years (group 0/1 seats).

The seats are engineered based on experience from military vehicles and are designed by one of the most renowned designers in the world.

The results achieved so far positions the SAFESEAT as the safest and easiest to install among all other products currently available to the public.
Mobius' solution incorporates significant innovation derived from its experience in the military market. It is expected that due to the superb results, SAFESEAT will set a benchmark in safety and will stimulate additional companies across all facets of the child car seat market. SAFESEAT’s innovation is expected to ignite and wake up the market, challenge, drive and spearhead the market to renewed innovation and investment in technology, safety, connectivity, design and distribution.

During the project, Mobius has already demonstrated that SAFESEAT will bring safety improvement of 42-65% in independent certified lab test results, against the model currently #1 in safety – BeSafe’s i-Size series. This initial improvement is only that driven by the implementation of the military SPIRAL technology in the seat base, which is only the beginning. New technology in the seat itself, its design and material handling, will increase safety further. In addition to the improvement driven by its SPIRAL technology for frontal-impact collisions, Mobius has developed new technology for side-impact collisions. Inspired by nature (biomimicry), Mobius applied groundbreaking design implementing the principals behind the Woodpecker’s skull protection to uniquely protect the baby’s head in a side crash event.

The level of safety in existing measurement parameters used today, and in new parameters that aren’t yet measured and will be introduced, will challenge and change the way child car seat safety is measured and tested. In addition to safety, the standards for design & desirability, engineering & materials, connectivity, and service, are intended to raise the bar to a level this market hasn’t yet experienced.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Today’s state of the art technology used in CRS is capable of reducing impact down to 40g, yet CRS today show that this is not sufficient to fully prevent the loss of life or to prevent severe head injuries. A 2011 study demonstrated that while more than 650 children ages 12 years and younger died in MCVs, fatalities only represent the tip of the iceberg, as there were more than 148,000 children in this age range who were severely injured. Crucially, A 5-year study published in 2013, observed that despite being properly restrained, 57,6% infants involved in moderate to high-speed MVCs sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): infants have several structural features of their neck and spine that place them at particularly high risk of head and spine injuries in accidents.

SAFESEAT is a new generation smart CRS based on breakthrough multiple-patented and ISO9001 quality standard certified technology which will set a new level of safety to dramatically minimize child casualties and injuries in traffic collisions. SAFESEAT is the result of 8 years of R&D leading to the development of a spring-like Energy Absorption (EA) technology converting kinetic energy to plastic deformation, absorbing most energy and dramatically reducing accelerations. The seats' EA mechanism, based on the SPIRAL element, is anchoring the seat to the vehicle’s frame. During such events, the component creates a buffering layer that absorbs the shock wave flowing from the vehicle frame to the seat, thus reducing the impact on the human body, from 600g down to 25g, leading to a 100% survival rate.

By the end of the project, we expect to finalize and homologate the first seat, aimed to children of ages 0 - 4 years and provide a breakthrough product at a reasonable price to parents.

Final Seat