Apple reinvents the seatbelt to make it easier to remove

The typical big red button to release a seatbelt is too old-fashioned for the Apple Car, which instead wants seatbelt buckles to light up, and even display information.

The familiar interior of a car could see changes because of Apple

Apple has had its eye on seatbelts before, with a 2019 patent proposing that they include speakers and media controls. Now in a newly-granted patent called "Restraint with an indicator area," Apple is going after something more basic.

Seatbelts will still work by your inserting a connector into a buckle, and that buckle will still have a button that snap-releases the belt. But where that release button is typically red, Apple's will change.

When you get into the Apple Car — which Apple still won't confirm it's doing — then you will see bright red seatbelt buckles. But then when have put one on, the red light turns off and the belt restraint "may be uncolored (i.e. colored according to the nominal color of the opaque structure."

So the buckle button will light up to help you find it. That could actually be useful in situations where it's not clear whose seatbelt is whose, or which buckle they should be inserted into.

It's potentially so useful that Skoda has already done it, or at least a version of it. Apple's patent proposes hiding the red light until its needed, by putting the illumination behind myriad invisible holes in the material.

"The description herein relates to a safety restraint that utilizes light emitted through an array of very small holes through an otherwise opaque surface to provide information to users regarding operation of the safety restraint," says the patent. "As one example, many seat belt buckles include red-colored release buttons to allow the user to easily discern the location and function of the button."

"[Small] holes are formed through opaque structures allow transmission of light," it explains. "In particular, portions of the restraint use light that is emitted through the holes (either empty or filled with a translucent material), which are formed through an otherwise opaque portion of the safety restraint."

"The size of the holes is sufficiently small such that they are not readily visible to the naked eve of a vehicle occupant on casual inspection," says Apple.

So a seatbelt and buckle could light up red when you need to see them, and turn back to being the same color as the rest of the seat when you're wearing them.

Detail from the patent showing that Apple designers may not have heard of Norman doors

There is just a little more, though. While the actual text of the patent doesn't use this word once, four of its nine illustrations clearly show that a seatbelt could say "Push."

It's not clear whether that word would light up as you draw the seatbelt near to its buckle, or whether it's what could be displayed on the buckle's release.

What is clear is that in either case, you're already either about to push the seatbelt's tongue into the buckle, or to press to release it. So in either case, "Push" bordering on patronizing.

It is always good to know that you have correctly secured a seat belt, so maybe the "Push" sign switching off could be confirmation. Except with existing seatbelts, there is a distinctive click when you get it right.

Or perhaps Apple intends to add haptic feedback, too.

Curiously, this newly-granted patent is actually a second one regarding lighting or lit-up regions in a car. In 2019, Apple was also awarded a patent for "Lighting systems of vehicle seats," which could light up when a seat is being adjusted, for instance.

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29 Comments

charlesatlas 401 comments · 9 Years

About 1 year ago

How about a Magsafe seatbelt, basically an Apple variant on Fidlock buckles? They are extremely easy to buckle and unbuckle.

eriamjh 1771 comments · 17 Years

So unnecessary. The best seatbelt light is no seatbelt light.

How about a friendly reminder in the voice of Siri to Please, fasten your seat belt instead of an annoying chime?

macxpress 5913 comments · 16 Years

JP234 said:

The current seatbelts we use are not broken. Why fix them?

If we want to improve safety, we should focus on getting people to actually USE them. We all know people who buckle them before sitting down on top of them. They'll do the same thing with this particular "innovation." The way to do that is to figure out a clever ignition lock-out that won't let the car start until the drive is actually buckled in, not sitting atop a seatbelt. If anyone could figure that out, it's Apple. (And I don't mean those "passive restraint" belts we had in the '90s, before airbags. Everyone hated them.)

A flip phone wasn't broken either but Apple made it better. A Sony Walkman wasn't broken either but Apple made it better. I would reserve judgement until you see the what and why, not just an article with baseless claims.

Whenever this vehicle comes to market I think it's gonna be like Apple Vision Pro. It'll be so far out there people will mock it like crazy because it's something incredibly different and not just the same as what everyone else is doing. This is what Apple does. They shake things up and push competitors to do things they couldn't imagine doing.

Stymyx 6 comments · 5 Years

JP234 said:

...The way to do that is to figure out a clever ignition lock-out that won't let the car start until the drive is actually buckled in, not sitting atop a seatbelt.

I can tell you, Ford actually tried this in the '70's. My dad's 1974 Ford Pinto had a "Seatbelt Interlock", which required the seatbelt to be attached before the engine would start. And if the interlock failed, there was a button under the hood that you had to press in order to start the engine. My dad was one of those types that refused to wear seatbelts. Not smart, I know, but that's the way he was. One day he learned how to defeat the interlock, by hooking the seatbelt buckle on the door handle lever. Doing that pulled the belt out far enough to where the system thought the belt was attached, and the engine would start.

Don't get me wrong. I think not wearing a seatbelt is a stupid idea, and I personally choose to wear one. But forcing people to wear one when they don't want to, that never works. If they want to live dangerously, fine, let them. If they don't, they're only endangering themselves.

And that Ford Seatbelt Interlock? It only lasted one model year. By 1975, it was gone.

avon b7 8046 comments · 20 Years

JP234 said:

The current seatbelts we use are not broken. Why fix them?

If we want to improve safety, we should focus on getting people to actually USE them. We all know people who buckle them before sitting down on top of them. They'll do the same thing with this particular "innovation." The way to do that is to figure out a clever ignition lock-out that won't let the car start until the drive is actually buckled in, not sitting atop a seatbelt. If anyone could figure that out, it's Apple. (And I don't mean those "passive restraint" belts we had in the '90s, before airbags. Everyone hated them.)

It's been many, many years since I saw anyone driving without a seat belt in the EU.

Sitting on a buckled belt is a very bad idea and not having one cross your shoulder is a very quick way to get fined.

In the context presented here, the word 'reinvent' is stretching things a lot.