Overview of Smart Airbag to Protect the Elderly when Falling

Abstract

Population aging is considered one of the prominent trends of the 21st century, manifested by the rapidly increasing proportion of elderly people, which profoundly impacts all aspects of a country, territory, and even globally. As the human body ages and its functions decline, falls become a significant risk to both physical and mental health, causing severe injuries to the elderly and creating a financial burden for their families. Therefore, proactive protective devices are highly valued for development to protect the elderly's bodies from serious injuries in the event of a fall. Airbags, which are known as safety components in automobiles, are designed to deploy during a collision to protect the occupants by reducing the force applied to the body by the dashboard, steering wheel, or any part of an automobile. Smart airbags are also designed to protect the elderly in a fall. The airbag will be inflated rapidly before falling to hug the body area that needs protection as a cushion to reduce the impact force between the body and the ground, thereby reducing injury to the body when falling. This paper provides an overview of research on smart airbags for protecting elderly people when falling, the sensors used in smart airbags, and the parameters that determine the moment of a fall.