Is this the world’s safest child car seat?
The Carkoon features a hidden shell that inflates like an airbag.LONDON, April 18 — A new car seat which employs James Bond-like technology to prevent injury to children in the event of an accident could go on sale as early as next year.
The Carkoon seat features a base with a hidden “shell” called an AirShield, which inflates in a split second following impact to cocoon the child instantly, in much the same way as an airbag deploys.
However, unlike traditional airbags, the cocoon that envelopes the baby is rigid, shielding the baby from flying items such as a water bottles or satellite navigation devices, which can be dangerous projectiles at high speeds.
The shell is formed of Kevlar, the same material used in body armor, and Nomex, a fireproof material which can offer heat protection to the child for 20 minutes in the event of a fire in the vehicle.
“If the head lining of the car catches fire, it’s like a grill oven — in a lot of cases, the smoke isn’t the big issue, it’s the heat coming down,” Carkoon’s inventor Jullian Preston-Powers told Relaxnews April 16.
Like many modern telematics systems sold preinstalled on vehicles today, the Carkoon also features an emergency beacon transmitter, which automatically sends a signal from the seat to emergency services in the event of an accident to identify the exact crash location, as well as an interior nightlight to help keep the baby calm inside the cocoon.
Carkoon has already performed “very well” at laboratories in the UK, Preston-Powers confirmed, but further trials are required to ensure the AirShield deploys reliably under all crash scenarios.
Assuming it passes these tests, the inventor says that it could be available by 2013, priced from £499 (RM2,500). — AFP/Relaxnews
