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Innovation

Keeping babies safe with racecar technology

What makes the Maxi-Cosi Prezi such a super safe carseat?
Written by Sun Kim, Contributor

What makes the Maxi-Cosi Prezi such a super safe carseat? Some out of the box thinking and racecar engineering.

The designers of the carseat chose to learn from another industry that has the same goal of safety but in an extreme situation. Working with one of the largest providers of seats for racecars, Dorel Juvenile Group gleaned new insight into materials and the importance of keeping those materials close to the body. As Barry Mahal, Executive Vice President of carseat design for Dorel Juvenile Group tells FastCompany,

"[The racecar engineers] explained proximity is key--no matter how good a material is, it's no benefit if it's too far from the driver's body. From there, we created a foam with hexagonal cells, which force the energy created in a crash to collapse in on itself, keeping it and the associated impacts away from the child. And the foam, from head to toe, is as close to the child as possible without reducing comfort."

In the Maxi-Cosi Prezi, the hexagonal cell foam technology and the improved placement of the foam, with an air release feature, are called G Cell and Air Protect. The two provide advanced side impact protection in the event of crash.

The specs for the Maxi-Cosi Prezi read like a racecar's too:

Superior Side Impact Performance: Featuring New G-Cell HX & Air Protect technology
Easy-out harness lifts out of the way
5-position no re-thread adjustable headrest
5-point harness with Center Front Adjust
5-position adjustable base with built in Rebound Control
1-click mini LATCH connectors

Via: FastCompany
Image: Maxi-Cosi

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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