Pop-up hood systems have been developed as a pedestrian protection technology for vehicles that have a narrow space between the inside surface of the hood and the rigid parts in the engine compartment. The aim of these systems is to help reduce the head injury criterion (HIC) by lifting up the hood and creating a greater distance to the rigid parts in the engine compartment. However, various issues have yet to be resolved in the adoption of these systems. The first category of issues is sensing-related, such as the method of distinguishing between collisions with pedestrians and roadside objects, and ensuring stable detection regardless of the location of the collision at the front of the vehicle. The second category is actuator-related, particularly the method of keeping the hood held up while ensuring that the impact energy of the collision with the head is absorbed. This paper describes the development of a pressure chamber type sensing system and push-rod type actuator that were designed to address these issues.