Recreation

Alpinestars Tech Air Race Suit

Wearable airbags

Recreation 7 of 8

Alpinestars Tech Air Race Suit Jeff Harris

The Alpinestars suit can reduce the impact of a motorcycle crash to one tenth of what a racer wearing conventional body armor would suffer. The suit continuously monitors the rider’s movements using embedded sensors, which communicate with a computer programmed to differentiate the motion that immediately precedes a crash from normal motion. When the system determines that a crash is imminent, it deploys airbags along the shoulders and collarbone in milliseconds to soften the blow. $8,000 (est.)

4 Comments

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ghost

12/03/11 at 2:45 pm

that's crazy.
to mars or bust!

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NoOneYouKnow

12/04/11 at 11:38 pm

Just think... in twenty years your average rider will actually be able to afford this. Great (and relatively simple) idea!

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inaka_rob

12/05/11 at 12:12 am

They already have airbag suits! Hit Air is one such company. These vests have a great track records already. They are also WAY WAY WAT cheaper than 8k. try like 200 to 500 dollars depending on the model you want. Yes the 8k model is more advanced. The air hit and other models simply have a cord you attach to your bike. when you are thrown from your bike (most likely) then your air bag deploys.

The biggest problem is the air canister and valve system. it is heavy and bulky. Even a small canister about 4 to 8 times bigger than a small CO2 that you have seen for bb guns or what ever.

This version is better but not 7,500$ better. Then agian it is a full leather suit, so that is about 1000$ right there. they are still charging abot 5500 just for a computer to deploy the airbag.

I am not bashing this suit! it is a great step forward in motorcycle safety. I just think this is obviously aimed at serious race teams only at this time, but that is good as it will get track tested and improved. Hopefully if they can make a version that is not uncomfaterbale and make it affordable it will become standard.

The current version is no heavy, its just feel like a you have a big hard %$%% pushing against your chest the entire ride. if you ride 8-10 hours a day, like I do when do every day when touring, then you have to be as absolutely comfortably as possible.

and yeah. what about safety. well what about it. if that safety feature wears you out faster leading to a crash, or is a distraction leading to a crash, it is more dangerous, not safer.