Motorcyclists To Get Wearable Airbags 515
jonerik writes "For the past hundred years or so motorcycle accidents have had an unfortunate potential for particularly horrific injuries, or worse. Improvements in safety gear have certainly been made in the past few decades, but in some ways those improvements have been balanced out by the tremendous speeds that modern bikes are capable of. According to this article from ABC News, though, Dainese, a protective sports clothing maker in Vicenza, Italy has developed a wearable airbag vest - called the D-Air - designed to cushion riders in the event of an accident. The D-Air vest features a tiny electronic computer referred to as the STM (which stands for Sensing, Triggering, and Memory), which was developed by an Israeli company called Merhav APP. According to the article, the STM contains sensors that monitor the bike's physical motion. 'The sensors onboard the STM will watch for telltale signs -- such as a sudden deceleration force of about ten times that of gravity -- that precede a collision. Once the computer determines an impending accident, the STM blasts the data to receiver in the vest to start the inflation process.'
This site also features some pictures of the D-Air vest in action. Dainese plans to begin selling the D-Air vest in Europe in the spring, though American sales will have to wait since the U.S. Department of Transportation has yet to set standards for such a device."
rebound effect? (Score:4, Funny)
New Movie? (Score:2, Funny)
Will they use these in the new Mad Max movie? [slashdot.org]
Go go... (Score:5, Funny)
That sounds like fun! (Score:1, Funny)
Just coincidence ? (Score:2, Funny)
That D-Air is pronounced like "dare" is probably just a coincident, right ?
Is it likely to come with a warning "The usage of D-Air does not substitute driving with due care ?"
Oh my....
Is this the same patent? (Score:4, Funny)
(Who knew NASA technology would pay off in this particular indirect way? Now our motorcyclists are bouncing around like Mars Pathfinder... After the accident maybe they can enjoy some refreshing TANG.)
Worse? (Score:4, Funny)
For the past hundred years or so motorcycle accidents have had an unfortunate potential for particularly horrific injuries, or worse; Improvements in safety gear
Methinks I need some coffee...
personal air bags (Score:4, Funny)
Michelin... (Score:2, Funny)
Cool! I imagine what a motercyclist will look like during or after an accident, I guess like this: the (good old) Michelin-guy [michelin.com].
Re:an air-vest has been advertized on tv for 6 mon (Score:3, Funny)
Volvos! (Score:1, Funny)
-j
My airbag (Score:5, Funny)
(dont let her know I said that or she'll yell at me!)
Wireless? (Score:2, Funny)
Someone hits their garage door opener and you get blown off your bike...
nice
Re:What about ruck sacks? (Score:1, Funny)
I'm picturing something more like the vest squeezing you until your head pops off like a cork on a champaigne bottle.
Preceding a collision?!?! (Score:2, Funny)
Yeah, riiiiiight...
and while they're at it why don't they try detecting other tell-tale signs like profuse bleeding and bone fractures that also precede a collision.
I guess when the computer determines an "impending accident" it dumps 1.21 jiggawatts into the flux capacitor.
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Dropping your bike (Score:4, Funny)
Re:What are we actually learning? (Score:2, Funny)
Unfortunately, drivers of SUVs aren't required to take these safety courses and end up killing a fair amount of their own citizens in smaller vehicles and motorcycles.
I knew SUV's were large, but I didn't realize that they constituted soverign nations yet. I guess I'll stick to walking.
I wonder... (Score:2, Funny)
N.S. Sir, our sensors indicate that your wearable air bag has actuated. Are you currently bouncing down the road like a beachball?
Biker: Unmff, ouch!, Damn!...nnngggohhh...
Better idea: inflatable wings (Score:4, Funny)
A guy I went to cycle class with actually go hit by a sport bike while he was driving a pickup, and came out of it worse than the guy on the bike. He came around a corner too quickly on a wet road, the back of the truck swung out into the oncoming traffic, and the bike *PRANG!* went right into the driver side door. The biker went flying, landed on the grass, and my buddy was lucky he WASN'T wearing his seat belt, since he ended up sharing the cab with the bike.
On second thought, how about a jacket that turns inflates with helium and floats you to safety?...
Style and Alternate Uses (Score:2, Funny)
What about alternate uses
-Base Jumping safety device
-new yuppie teach-your-kid-to-ride-a-bike saftey device
-New Staight Jacket for the mentally Ill
-Really safe sex device
Scary but funny scenario (Score:2, Funny)
Coincidentally, I actually rode my Honda Magna 750 [mac.com] motorcycle into work today...
Version for Segway also planned... (Score:3, Funny)
It looks the same and works identically except that the trigger goes off if the wearer acheives speeds of more than 20 miles per hour, as on a Segway this is an obvious sign of a collision...
Re:Ouch! (Score:2, Funny)
In the unlikely event of a 10g+ water landing... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Biking stories ... sniff (Score:5, Funny)
Christ, what was the name of this group? The Lemmings?
Free transplants - no more? (Score:2, Funny)
So, in the interest of humanity, ban those airbags now!
Fun with spark gap generator (Score:4, Funny)
9v battery - $2.29
momentary contact switch - $0.79
WarDriving with a spark gap generator to swamp the sensor in the exploding vest - priceless
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hmm, so... (Score:2, Funny)