We don’t cover a lot of baby seat tech around these parts, but we found Air Protect, a new technology meant to soften the blow to a baby’s head in a side-impact crash, downright punchable.
According to Dorel Juvenile Group, makers of Air Protect (which is a system technically comprised of those discs you see surrounding the sea’s head area), one in three child crash deaths is from a side impact collision. So the company developed what is essentially a constantly deployed airbag, or a super soft pillow capable of absorbing the a large impact and effectively extending the amount of time a child’s head has to stop in an impact situation.
We know it might not sound impressive, but when set on a table you can punch the hell out of one of these discs and not hurt your hand. (You can check out the clip at about 1:50 in here.)
The technology will be available in at least one Safety 1st product at Babies R Us later this year. And while it’s tough to know how well the technology will work until it’s tested publicly available, our own Wilson Rothman, expert in everything babies (because he has one) points out that Safety 1st isn’t generally considered a top tier baby seat company. The rest of us, haters of all small animals that are neither feline, canine or python in nature, would honestly not know. [Safety 1st]
jim
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 11:16 PMSafety 1st is owned by Dorel Industries which owns a number of carseat brands around the world and is the largest car seat maker on the planet.
John Guenther
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 at 11:11 PMJust another marketing gimmick … the baby seat industry has been selling seats that don’t work at all from side impact for forty years and never warned parents about this problem … just look at the stats for dead and injured children. there isn’t one that actually works. When challenged on this point their responce is “well they are better than nothing” or “they are made to Government specs” this air pillow is just more jive … no different than a laminated foam pad of different densities. Imagine a 500 lb Mike Tyson punching your baby in the side of her head with boxing gloves on, a brain hemorage perhaps at best. thats what this stuff is all about …
Victoria
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 5:21 AMUmm Evenfo has the side impact car seat for several years. What has take Dorel so long. I wonder how far behind in this research they are. I’ll stick with those who were proactive.