Years ago we looked at Volvo's 2017 V40, designed with an external airbag to protect pedestrians struck by the vehicle:

As you can see, upon impact sensors trigger the hood to pop open as the airbag deploys. This arrangement prevents the struck pedestrian from slamming directly into the windshield. While it doesn't prevent them from rag-dolling with momentum over the rest of the vehicle, it does prevent that catastrophically abrupt direct impact.

Subaru created something similar (and earlier, in 2016). First featured on the Impreza, Subaru's was designed specifically to protect both pedestrians and cyclists that are struck. It doesn't feature a pop-up hood, which is likely difficult to engineer, but a U-shaped airbag that serves much the same function:

Subaru says that when a pedestrian is struck, they tend to impact the windshield. Struck cyclists, however, have a higher tendency for their head to strike the A-pillar, which doesn't have the give of a windshield. The new airbag is designed to solve that.

Here's a video by Japan's MotorFan showing how quickly the airbag deploys:

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MotorFan says this external airbag has now made its way into the company's new Forester:

The new Forester will be Japanese-market-only. Similarly, Volvo's V40 and its external airbag was never sold in the 'States. Why? Because European and Japanese regulatory bodies have much more stringent requirements for automakers to protect pedestrians. In America, the focus is primarily on protecting the occupants of the cars. (Is anyone surprised?)