Hiroshima University-affiliated startup business Humanix has recently revealed a three-wheel electric vehicle, called iSAVE YOU, which is covered in covered with an airbag-like cushion material that springs back to its original form after absorbing impacts.

You hear that, auto-makers around the world? You’re doing it wrong, airbags go on the OUTSIDE of the not the inside! At least according to Japanese company Humanix, whose golf-cart-like vehicle, iSAVE YOU, is covered in airbags. Researchers from the University of Hiroshima formed the venture company to sell their innovative creation for 790,000 yen ($9,740 USD). Professor Tsutomu, president of Humanix, told Japanese magazine Sponichi Annex that “the car will be perfect for our rapidly aging society and that there are already many requests for it from the elderly and disabled.” The cushions covering the vehicle are made of a tent fabric and sponge, and will absorb shock waves in case of an impact, protecting both the passengers and pedestrians. The iSAVE YOU can run up to 30 km on a single charge and and can be recharged from any regular household electrical outlet.

According to the Humanix website, the biggest advantage of using a vehicle like iSAVE YOU, apart from the safety aspect, is the ease of registration. The iSAVE YOU vehicle can be registered as a trike (a bicycle with a light side-car) and it only requires a single, simple (almost free) inspection and registration procedures at the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Center rather that the regular, instead of the regular “Shaken” registration which costs over 100,000 yen ($,1000+). Also, driving one of these three-wheeled vehicles doesn’t require proof of a costly parking space, or any liability insurance. Still, I don’t see how those exterior airbags are going to protect anyone from a serious impact with an SUV, for example…

via 3yen news