After Volvo and Land Rover, now Subaru will include a pedestrian airbag as standard. When the new Impreza goes on sale in Japan in autumn 2016 it will be the first time a Japanese constructor offers such equipment.
The new Japanese ‘pedestrian head protection airbag’ differs from those on European models. Whereas Volvo developed a system that uses inflators to unlock the hood’s hinges, lift the hood and then deploy the airbag, Subaru’s system does not lift the hood. Instead, it ejects a folded cloth from a gap just below the windscreen wipers. This is activated by sensors that track air pressure in a tube inside the front bumper. If an impact is detected, the folded cloth airbag protects the pedestrian’s head by covering the width of the car just above the hood, including the wipers and base of the front pillars.
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/atclen/news_en/15mk/080100740/?n_cid=nbptec_tecrs