The teaser was released on Honda Japan's website for the new Honda Odyssey that'll be officially unveiled next month!We'd guessed the Odyssey wasn't something unfamiliar with our markets, with the highly successful first generation launched in 1994, followed by the lack lustre second generation in 1999, and the 3rd generation (currently on sale) launched in 2003, which with it, brings Honda's first new generation of futuristic dashboards, the floating grill, and jam pack of technology. Now, the new Odyssey, which is Honda's flagship in our market, will again set new standards in automotive technology. With Honda's recent track record, there's no doubts on whether the new Odyssey will be yet another benchmark trendsetter. Of course we need no introduction on Honda's capable 2.4 liter i-VTEC, and the 3.5 ltr V6 currently offered in the top of the range Accord; what sets the Odyssey apart, are the driver centric electronic assistance systems, as maneuvering around in a full sized 7 seater MPV is no easy task, and with target buyers skewed towards business execs to home makers (soccer moms), the new Odyssey features breakthrough designs from better, safer airbags, to a slew of digital imagery technologies and park assist systems.
Let's take a look at the airbags first, traditional airbags as we know, thou saves lives in an accident by absorbing the impact caused by the inertia load on the passenger's body hitting on any surface of the car, be it the steering wheel, the windows etc. Hence airbags would have to be deployed in split seconds, in fact they deploy in split milliseconds.
Now, there's no way any air pump could provide such an instant charge of air to cushion the blow in time, therefore, airbags are fitted with explosives (yes, explosives literally) that with an electric charge, solid matter combust into air could provide the most immediate expansion that's required to fill up the airbag, hence all traditional airbags are single directional, by expanding the airbag towards the direction of the occupant where they should be protection. This sudden charge of energy could deliver upwards of 200lbs of force, almost as if a punch on the face from a boxer, albeit with the forces dissipated from a larger area compared to a boxing glove - hence, never believe an airbag deployment is a comfortable thing, airbags have been known to kill young babies and children that weren't fastened on a child seat.
Moreover, traditional airbags with their almost single direction charge of expansion, would only have the 'feasible protection surface' come to shape around the 0.030 second from charging, to the full deployment at 0.040 seconds where the airbag begins to release pressure. Honda's i-SRS system, applies a spiral form of expansion where the airbag's 'feasible protection surface' comes of shape within the 0.015 mark, and then keeps its pressure all the way till the 0.060 mark, giving occupants a wider, more stable area of protection within half the time of conventional SRS air bags, and with a pressure holding time of up to 0.045 seconds compared to the 0.010 second time of conventional airbags.
Another application of technology for active safety system is the complete use of cameras placed all round of the vehicle for the use of reverse parking, side parking, extended wide view of junctions, and for maneuvering through very tight spaces. There are cameras placed on all corners of the car, all connected to the central ECU for different applications to be put into used.
We wouldn't cover much on the parking assist system, but one very interesting aspect of use this system has been put onto is the monitoring of oncoming traffic while exiting obstructed junctions, giving the driver a wider field of view on what's ahead, avoiding unwanted troubles associated with such maneuverings. Cameras placed at both corners of the car's front could lend some brain power from the onboard ECU to compile a 180 degree angle of view at T-junctions. Lastly, the cameras can also be put to good use to determine the possibility of going through a very tight opening.
