https://www.wired.com/story/zf-external-side-airbag-crash/?mbid=synd_digg I'm sure you've seen this, Test Dummy, what is your take?
I've seen it, but no OE's are onboard (get it). Putting something like a huge airbag out in the environment wouldn't be practical. Airbags now deploy after a crash starts. This one would need to be before, and that takes cameras, radars, etc., and they aren't reliable enough yet. There'd be many false deployments, which is probably why OE's aren't ready. I was asked, at a conference, by an engineer with a PhD, about his idea of having seats move inboard when a crash is imminent; 25cm in 5 milliseconds. I think I responded with something snarky, like how the seat would be protected, but the driver is still where he started.