Roads accidents are becoming more and more common due to increased traffic. The French company named Helite stated that nearly more than 35 percent of the injuries that involves thorax are the results of bicycle accidents and almost 30 percent of the injuries involve the spinal area. Keeping these records in mind, an airbag tech company has invented a remarkable safety product B’Safe. It is a cycling vest that swells when a cyclist falls down.
Image: Helite
The company showcased this safety gear at this year’s CES. The safety gear contains two segments; the reflective vest and a distinct electronic unit that gets attached under the saddle. Amongst these two, these segments can respond to two main types of accidents.
There are many incidents in which an accident is caused by an impact to the bike, in this situation, an accelerometer present in the saddle unit senses a sudden shock. This immediate shock results in a unit to wirelessly alert the motion sensor fixed in the vest. If the sensors find that rider is falling from its bike, it causes a user replaceable CO2 cartridge to fill the airbag of the vest instantaneously. This whole process of alerting to filling the airbag takes only 80 milliseconds.
Image: Helite
In the case of non-impact accidents such as in slippery roads, the motion sensor of the airbag still senses the rapid change in positioning of the rider which results in inflation of the airbag.
A user can turn on a system by merely zipping the vest up, and it can only be powered off by unzipping the jacket. It is reported that a single USB charge, the battery of the vest is reasonable to use for seven days. On the other hand, the saddle part can function for approximately five years on a single battery. The company stated that B’Safe would be available this spring in the United States and Europe. The price is set to 700 US dollars for a single unit.