Delphi Automotive Systems has announced it is supplying its smart occupant passenger detection system for Jaguar and four models of Ford and Lincoln-Mercury vehicles.

The Delphi PODS (Passenger Occupant Detection System) is described by Dave Wohleen, executive vice president of Delphi Automotive Systems, as the first and only weight-sensing system of its kind to reach the market. It is first being introduced as standard equipment on the 2001 Jaguar XK sports car series Adaptive Restraint Technology System (ARTS).

"We were able to develop the right solution at the right time," Wohleen said. "Our early development of a validated technology to address an anticipated regulatory ruling is paying off now in major customer programs."

The PODS technology enables vehicle manufacturers to improve the effectiveness of airbag protection through smart deployment or suppression of the passenger's airbag. The Delphi weight-based system is a major component of an advanced airbag system which vehicle manufacturers must implement to meet the recent U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, which was announced in May 2000.

The advanced airbag ruling requires manufacturers to make airbags more effective for a broader weight-range of occupants than previously required for veihcles sold in the U.S. Beginning in 2004, 35 percent of each manufacturer's fleet sold in the U.S. must be equipped with advanced airbag systems, and the number increases to nearly 100 percent by 2006.

The Delphi seat-based sensor determines whether to suppress or allow passenger airbag deployment based on the passenger's weight or is designed to suppress the system entirely if the seat is empty. "This is truly a market 'game changer' which represents an entirely new safety segment in the vehicle component industry," Wohleen said. "PODS technology joins a distinguished list of earlier safety innovations like airbags, anti-lock brakes and smart seat restraints."