International Symposium on Vehicle Safety Systems
International Symposium on Vehicle Safety Systems

Symposium

Preliminary Program

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14.00

Welcome, Opening EXPO Day
14.05 Official Opening of the AIRBAG 2026 EXPO Prof. Hefner, member of the board of directors; Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Munich
Lars Fredrik Berg, chairman
14.30 Guided tours through the AIRBAG 2026 EXPO
14.30

Expert workshops (in German language; separate registration necessary)
»Berliner Erklärung des VDI zur Fahrzeugsicherheit« (register here) Prof. R. Schöneburg, VDI-Expertenforum
»Neues aus der technischen Rettung mit Einsatzberichten und Erfahrungsaustausch« R. E. Erbe, ehemaliges Mitglied der Berliner Feuerwehr
18.30

Evening reception

8.00 Welcome and Opening L. Berg, Chairman of the Symposium
 

Keynote: SAFE ROADS INDIA – AN INITIATIVE DEDICATED TO ALL ASPECTS OF ROAD AND VEHICLE SAFETY IN INDIA
P. Gonuguntla; Mercedes-Benz R&D India
 

Block 1: ROAD SAFETY – CURRENT STATUS AND REQUIREMENTS 2026 AND BEYOND

Session 1: UPDATES IN GLOBAL RATINGS
Session Responsible: R. Schöneburg, RSC Safety Engineering
  DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE RATINGS AND LEGAL REQUIREMENTS Li Zhi; CATARC, PRC
  UPDATE EURO NCAP R. Schram; Euro NCAP, Brussels, BEL
  UPDATE BHARAT NCAP tba

Session 2: SAFETY ALONG THE DIVERSITY OF VEHICLE CLASSES
Session Responsible: B. Peters; AUMOVIO
  DERIVING PASSIVE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR HEAVY COMMERCIAL VEHICLES FROM REAL-WORLD CRASH DATA T. Lich, J. Mönnich; Bosch, Renningen, GER
  SAFE URBAN MOBILITY – NEW VEHICLE CATEGORY M0 L. Jansen, M. Hog, H. Klein; FEV Vehicle, Aachen, GER
 
 

Poster Session
Session Responsible: S. Liepold; Audi
 

Block 2: TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS INFLUENCING AND IMPROVING VEHICLE SAFETY

Session 3: IN-CABIN AND EXTERIOR SENSOR SYSTEMS AND SENSOR FUSION
Session Responsible: P. Almeida; Volkswagen
  ROBUST ADAPTIVE RESTRAINT DESIGN FOR REAL-WORLD VARIABILITY: THE NEED FOR IMPROVED OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION M. Östling, L. Erikson; Autoliv, Vargarda, SWE
Y. Le-Merrer; Autoliv, Cergy, FRA
D. Schmidt, T. Lich, K. Heyer, G. Schneider; Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, GER
  REVEALING CRITICAL EDGE CASES: SIMULATION-BASED VALIDATION OF IN-CABIN ALGORITHMS P. Laufer; IAV Fahrzeugsicherheit, Gifhorn, GER
  HIGHLY INTEGRATED CAMERA SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED IN-CABIN-MONITORING D. Pauer; Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, GER
  AktiMeter – A PROOF-OF-CONCEPT TOOL FOR CONTEXT-AWARE AND ADAPTIVE IN-CABIN FUNCTIONS F. Diederichs; Fraunhofer IOSB, Karlsruhe, GER

Session 4: ADAPTIVITY OF SAFETY SYSTEMS
Session Responsible: M. Fehring; Mercedes-Benz
  CUSTOMIZED OCCUPANT PROTECTION – TAKING RESTRAINT DEVELOPMENTS INTO A NEW ERA F. Heurlin; Volvo Car Corp., Göteborg, SWE
  EVALUATING ADAPTIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEMS FOR A DIVERSE OCCUPANT POPULATION USING THE SAFER HUMAN BODY MODEL E. Mishra, U. Wedberg, N. Lubbe; Autoliv, Vargarda, SWE
  RELEVANCE OF OCCUPANT PERCEPTION QUALITY FOR EFFECTIVE ADAPTIVE RESTRAINT SYSTEMS C. Fischer, M. Kolbe; ZF LIFETEC, Alfdorf, GER
P. Russ, R. Moll, P Zell; ZF LIFETEC, Dachau, GER

Session 5: RECLINED SEATING SAFETY
Session Responsible: G. Schneider; Robert Bosch
  MECHANISTIC ANALYSIS OF SUBMARINING AND SYSTEMATIC FACTOR IDENTIFICATION IN RECLINED OCCUPANT POSTURES R. Miyake, Y. Miyajima, T. Hiruta; Mazda Motor Corporation, Hiroshima, JAP
  "I-SAFETY", A HUMAN-CENTRIC SAFETY SYSTEM FOR FUTURE OCCUPANT PROTECTION C. Liu, C. Wu; ZF LIFETEC, Shanghai, PRC
  REDEFINING PASSIVE SAFETY FOR NEXT GENERATION RECLINED SEATING     M. Rohde, N. Steinke, I. Kalliske; Joyson Safety Systems, Aschaffenburg, GER
A. Krebs, S. Kieser-Neumeyer; Brose Fahrzeugteile, GER
  OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN RECLINED AND RELAXED POSTURES USING FORCE-LIMITED SEAT KINEMATICS M. Unger et al.; Toyoda Gosei Europe, Saarbrücken, GER
 
 

Airbag Award Ceremony and

Exhibitors evening – Get-together in the foyer of the conference hall (until approx. 22.00)

 

Opening Day 2
  EXTENDING THE PROTECTION ENVELOPE OF MODERN OCCUPANT RESTRAINT SYSTEMS TO REAL WORLD USE CASES – A CONTROL UNIT PERSPECTIVE M. Schmid; Bosch, Stuttgart, GER
 

Block 3: TOOLS AND METHODS ENABLING EFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION

Session 6: BENEFITS THROUGH APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SAFETY SYSTEMS
Session Responsible: A. Gulde; Autoliv
  AI-BASED AIRBAG TEST EVALUATION J. Leverenz; Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, GER
  A THREE-SPACE AGENTIC AI FRAMEWORK FOR END-TO-END INFLATABLE CURTAIN AIRBAG DEVELOPMENT, USING DATA ABSTRACTION AND SYNTHETIC DATA GENERATION S. Jagalur; Autoliv India, Karnataka, IND
M. Rad; Autoliv Sweden, Vargarda, SWE

Session 7: VIRTUAL ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL TESTING
Session Responsible: J. Neutz, Joyson Safety Systems
  FIRST INVENTORY OF THOR 5F – THE ADVANCED SMALL FEMALE FRONTAL ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DEVICE H. Paul; Kistler ATD, Heidelberg, GER
P. Wernicke; BMW, München, GER
  FROM DRIVING SIMULATION TO ADAPTIVE SAFETY FUNCTIONS – LINKING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT AND REAL-WORLD SCENARIOS A. Forster; AUMOVIO Germany, Frankfurt, GER
  PASSENGER AIRBAG: TEST METHODOLOGY TO PREDICT THE RISK OF WINDSHIELD BREAKAGE R. Mirones, L. Banos, O. Cordero; ZF LIFETEC, Boecillo, ESP
O. Heiland, B. Issler; ZF LIFETEC, Alfdorf, GER
J. Krochmal, A. Maier; ZF LIFETEC, Czestochowa, POL
  HYBRID HOMOLOGATION – A NEW MILESTONE FOR CRASH SIMULATION F. Bauer; BMW, München, GER
 
 

PANEL DISCUSSION: TRUST, DATA AND AI – NAVIGATING THE FUTURE OF INTEGRAL SAFETY

As part of the international AIRBAG 2026 Symposium, the panel discussion will focus on the current challenges and opportunities associated with data harvesting and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field of vehicle safety. The discussion aims to explore the tension between value creation and responsibility, addressing the question of how protection and individual autonomy can be reconciled with integrated vehicle safety in the context of digital technologies and connected mobility.
 

Block 4: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE VEHICLE OF THE FUTURE

Session 8: INNOVATIONS IN SAFETY PRODUCTS – AIRBAGS; STEERING WHEEL, SEAT BELTS AND SYSTEMS
Session Responsible: D. Schultz; ZF LIFETEC
  VDA GROUP PYROTECHNIC AGEING – A NEWLY DEVELOPED RECOMMENDATION FOR INFLATOR AGEING J. Neutz et al.; Joyson Safety Systems, Aschaffenburg, GER
  STANDARDIZED SIDE AIRBAG MODULE FOR GLOBAL MARKET APPLICATION S. Bogdanovic, D. Acker, M. Wahl; ZF LIFETEC, Alfdorf, GER
  NEW “GenX” STEERING WHEEL GENERATION – VOLKSWAGEN J. Grammes; Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, GER

Session 9: INTERIOR INNOVATIONS FOR THE VEHICLE OF THE FUTURE
Session Responsible: J. Neutz, Joyson Safety Systems
  AUTOLIV AND TENSOR INTRODUCE FOLDABLE STEERING WHEEL – DEFINING COMFORT AND SAFETY FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING J.-B. Tessier; Autoliv, Vouille, FRA
J. Xiao; Tensor, San Jose, USA
  INNOVATIVE HEAD PROTECTION SYSTEM FOR CONVERTIBLE S. Heine, P. Dick, M. Fehring; Mercedes-Benz, Sindelfingen, GER
  RESEARCH ON OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN ZERO-GRAVITY SEATS S. Wu; Yanfeng International Technical Center, Shanghai, PRC

Registration for the AIRBAG Symposium 2026

* Required

I would like to take part in the following elements of the symposium (included in the registration fee):

The Airbag Symposium features an impressive lineup of distinguished speakers who are leaders in the field of automotive safety and airbag technology. Their lectures cover a wide range of topics, providing valuable insights into the latest research, innovations, and trends.

In addition to the keynote presentations, the symposium also showcases a variety of high-quality posters that highlight cutting-edge research and developments from both emerging talents and established experts. These posters offer a unique opportunity for attendees to engage with the content, ask questions, and discuss ideas directly with the authors.

Together, the excellent speakers and innovative poster presentations create an enriching experience for all participants, fostering collaboration and inspiring new approaches to enhancing vehicle safety. Don't miss the chance to learn from the best in the industry and contribute to the important dialogue on airbag technology!

© Fraunhofer ICT

International Symposium

Keynote and lectures from international expert speakers.

Q&A with speakers and experts

© Fraunhofer ICT

Scientific Poster Session

Best poster award

© Fraunhofer ICT

Panel Discussion

Leading experts on trending topics

© Fraunhofer ICT

AIRBAG Award Ceremony

Honoring lifetime achievements in the area of vehicle safety

Contributions

Lectures by world-leading experts from OEMs, suppliers, universities and public authorities on the following topics will be contributing to the 2026 AIRBAG symposium.

Their topics are:

  • Updates in ratings and legislation
  • Safety for alternative vehicle classes
  • In-cabin and exterior sensing and sensor fusion
  • Adaptivity of safety systems
  • Reclined seating safety
  • Benefits through application of artificial intelligence in the development of safety systems
  • Virtual engineering and testing
  • Innovations in safety products – airbag systems, steering wheel, seat and belt systems, etc.
  • Interior innovations for the vehicle of the future

Technical and scientific poster session

Poster presentations along with written manuscripts will be included in the proceedings. We have collected contributions at the cutting edge of technical development. 

AIRBAG 2026 at a glance

  • Symposium with lectures of addressing all relevant aspects of integral vehicle safety systems
  • Technical and scientific poster session
  • Exhibition area for commercial presentation of innovations
  • Evening receptions for networking

Contact

Contact Press / Media

Manuela Wolff

Conference Management

Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT
Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Straße 7
76327 Pfinztal

Phone +49 721 4640-121

Fax +49 721 4640-120